Heavenly Encounter - A Walking Dead Bethyl AU
by Hearts1989
Summary: Daryl was the emotionally damaged bad-ass, never much caring if he lived from one day to the next. Beth was the angel who came into his life to save him from everything he needed saving from, most of all himself and his self-destructive habits. Can she be the salvation that he never even knew he needed? Rated M because I don't know what else to rate anything TWD.
1. Chapter 1

A HEAVENLY ENCOUNTER

I'm scared to get close and I hate being alone.

I long for that feeling to not feel at all.

The higher I get, the lower I'll sink.

I can't drown my demons, they know how to swim.

"Can You Feel My Heart" by Bring Me the Horizon

Daryl stalked out the doors of the convenience store, searching each side of the street, looking for any evidence of the beautiful blonde girl who had been standing at the edge of the aisle where he was picking up some painkillers, observing him quietly and smiling softly. He had left the bar early that night having gotten into a fight with his brother's long time friend Martinez. Merle had been hitting on some poor girl who clearly was not interested and Martinez was egging it on. It had made Daryl sick to his stomach; the way Merle kept making vulgar comments and Martinez just eating it all up. Daryl had warned him in a low voice to cut it the fuck out. But Martinez had just looked at him and laughed. "What are you gonna do about it?," Martinez had bit out.

At that moment, the girl looking at him with a helpless look on her face, Merle laughing raucously at his latest barb and Martinez issuing that challenge; he had seen red. He had pulled his fist back and sunk it with all the force of his body into Martinez' nose, feeling the sickening crunch of splintering bone and the spurt of blood that followed. He knew he shouldn't have, but he felt better for having done it. He had wrapped his knuckles before getting on the bike.

When he had caught a glimpse out of her in the store right before she had disappeared, there had been a long moment between the two of them. She had smiled so softly at him then, her face almost bathed in sunshine. He had reached for her, completely an unconscious gesture. Something caught his attention momentarily just beyond where she stood, leaning against the pharmacy counter like she did so every day. When he turned around again, she was gone.

It hadn't been the first time he had seen her. He had seen her twice before, once a day last week when he was leaving the bike shop. She had been bent over a man sitting on the bench sitting across the street. He had been reading the newpaper and she looked to be reading over his shoulder. He thought it odd, but the man seemed to be completely unaware of her presence altogether. The next time he had seen her, he really had thought he had imagined it. He had fallen asleep against the outside of the shop a few days ago, right after lunch, and when he opened his eyes she had been standing under the neighboring tree, leaning against the trunk and watching him as he slept. He had reached up to rub his hand down over his face in an attempt to wake up and when he looked up, it was as if she had never been there at all.

Not seeing any evidence of her anywhere outside the store now and starting to wonder why she seemed familiar to him, he climbed on his bike and started it, fastening his helmet and speeding off in the direction of home, loving the vibration of the bike and the high speed he was chasing. He flexed his fingers at the next light. His hand was going to hurt like a bitch tomorrow, he thought. When he looked up, waiting for the light to change, he saw her again, beyond the next intersection. She held out the universal hooked thumb, her other hand propped on her jutted out hip.

She made a sight standing in the silhouette of the Georgia landscape, her flaxen hair brighter than the noonday sun looking radiant in the now soft glow of sunset. She was wearing a pair of tight-fitting blue jeans, a white t-shirt and a black leather jacket. The light turned green and Daryl was so mesmerized by the sight of her and making sure she didn't disappear this time, he nearly tipped the bike over at the slight curve before pulling up to where she stood. She smiled openly at him as he leveled his gaze at her. He was almost afraid to speak but he figured if she talked back to him, it might mean he wasn't crazy after all and she did really exist beyond his imagination. He pulled his helmet off so he could get a proper look at her. As he pulled it over his head, he half expected her to have vanished when he faced her. But there she was, looking directly at his eyes and smiling that bright as sunshine smile, her face full of trust and something that looked a lot like amusement. Like she knew something he didn't know. And in a way, she did; he had no idea where he knew her from. She clearly was privy to some information he didn't have access to. Oddly, it didn't bother him.

"Somebody as pretty as you shouldn't be out here thumbin' a ride. Didn't your mama ever tell you it's a dangerous habit to take rides from strangers?" The words rolled off Daryl's tongue like he spoke like this every day. But to tell the truth, he barely had two words to say to anybody, least of all Merle.

She laughed then, her soft contralto voice lilting in the muggy Georgia air, the day's humidity still being felt in the seam between sunset and dusk. "My mama told me lots of things." She said noncommittally. "You gonna give me a ride or what?" She tilted her head to the side, her blonde ponytail bobbing to the side. That's when he noticed the single long braid going down the middle of the gathered tresses. It might have seemed out of place on anyone else. But on her, it fit.

Daryl licked his lips, his mouth feeling suddenly dry, standing here and talking with this beyond beautiful girl. "Where ya headed?" Daryl asked her although he didn't know why. The way his heart was thrumming away seemingly right against his skin, he knew he would take her to the end of the earth if that was where she wished to go. The hell of it was that he didn't know why he felt that way. He just did and he was powerless to feel anything else but this awestruck wonder.

She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly and he again got that feeling that he knew her from somewhere, something, some other time. "I don't know. What's your name, _stranger_?" she placed an emphasis on the last word, but the way her eyes bore into his seeming like they penetrated all the way in, it made him feel like she saw everything anyway and there was no way he could be a stranger.

"Daryl. What's yours?" He could not take his eyes away from her. It was a damn good thing Merle wasn't here to witness any of this. He'd be all over this like stink on a June and Daryl knew instinctively that Merle saying anything about this angel would likely irritate him; no make that enrage him.

"Beth," was her reply. "I'm going to the bus station in downtown Atlanta."

"Hop on," Daryl said gruffly before he could even have a chance to process what he had just agreed to. Beth beamed at him as she walked closer to the bike. He reached around behind him and retrieved the extra helmet reserved for the very few times he had somebody riding with him. For whatever reason, Beth didn't move to take the helmet from him and instead seemed to expect him to do something.

He hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do, then reached up and settled the helmet on her head, feeling all kinds of strange about messing up her ponytail even though it looked like it had seen better days in the first place. It just made her all that more endearing to him. He fastened the strap beneath her chin. His fingers skimmed over her jaw line as he pulled his hand away and his hand lingered just a bit longer than was necessary before he finally dropped it awkwardly back to his side.

Beth got closer and angled her body carefully until she swung one leg over the bike directly behind him and brought her knees up, pressing her chest into his back. Then Daryl felt her delicate fingers skimming the surface of his leather vest as they snaked around his middle to lightly clasp his ribs, her hold on him tentative at best.

He chuckled slightly as he turned his head to the side so she could hear him over the growl of the engine. ""S never gonna work angel," His chuckle was low and deep, but she could heard him nonetheless. He moved his hands up to hers on either side of his ribcage. He grabbed both hands and pulled her firmly against the back of him and pressing each palm into his abs. "You better hang on like this instead if you don't wanna go fallin' off the back. Unless you ain't fond of your skin." He said, smirking at her.

Beth nearly jumped off the back of the back when she felt it; the electric jolt that went through her body when he pulled her arms tighter around him and seated them firmly against his rock hard abs. She gasped a little and then coughed, hoping to cover up her surprise. She had heard of this happening before, but she had always been convinced that it would never happen to her. She was comfortable with her fate, relished it even. To say that it was surprising that she could feel him touch her would be a mild understatement. She was pulled so tightly against him now that she worried about releasing him at this point. If touching him brought an electric shock, then letting him go would surely be worse, wouldn't it?

Her reaction had been a little unexpected that she had nearly jumped away from him as he pulled her closer to him, but he had really only meant for her to safe. He hadn't meant to scare her and he felt like the worst kind of asshole for it. For the first time since he had stopped his bike to give her a ride, he felt a little anxious about the whole thing.

""Course I like my skin. I'll hang on; I promise," her voice was barely heard as a whisper over the loud hum of the bike. But as he could have predicted, she smiled at him, like looking upon him held the answers to all the world's problems. And when she smiled at him like that, all coherent thought left and he was left with nothing but gut reaction and his very inept social skills. Maybe he had imagined her reaction to his touch?

Seeming to find this an okay response, he kicked the bike back up and sped off, Beth gripped firmly against his back. He tried not to think how good it felt to have someone on the back of his bike. Beth riding behind him elicited all sorts of responses he hadn't had in a very long time. He loved the closeness. He loved the familiarity. He loved the way she kept gripping his leather vest every once in a while. He loved the way her fingers ignited something in him that he felt hadn't been awake for a very, very long time, maybe even ever. And he didn't even think of it in a sexual way. It was more like someone who had been deprived of oxygen while under water for an extended period of time. When they came back up, they sucked in air like their very life depended on it. Right now, that's the way Daryl felt. Like his breath of life hinged upon her very existence.

Beth was still reeling over the fact that she could feel his touch. It happened all the time, she had heard of it. She would have to ask Seth about it when she reported later that night.

The bus station was their rendezvous point, all of them. The Guardians met there every night at dusk and every morning just before dawn. It's where she had gotten this assignment in the first place. She had read his file; Daryl Dixon, drifter, minor tussles with the law, brother Merle in and out of prison. His file also said if he didn't change his lifestyle or find some direction, he wouldn't have much longer here on earth. The thought made her sad; not because he would die. She knew he'd be better for it in this cold cruel world with monsters roaming about. She would be sad because she wouldn't get to see him anymore. Once they made that ascent into Heaven, the Guardians gave up any claim on them.

He intrigued her more than she was willing to admit and she knew that the way her heart kept hammering in her chest every few minutes could not be a good thing. She turned her head to the side, shielding her face from the wind flapping about. She leaned her cheek against the back of his vest and felt the coarse stitching there. She remembered seeing a large pair of angels wings stitched on the back of the vest, like something out of Michelangelo's paintings. The wings looked like they belonged on him but his expression told her that he was not comfortable in the least. She sighed against him, feeling his warmth even through the vest and she barely had time to register the oddness of feeling warm when she wasn't supposed to be feeling anything at all. She was a Guardian after all and they didn't have sensations, not in the conventional sense.

She vowed to talk about all this with Seth later. For now she decided to enjoy the ride and instead concentrated on the things she felt that she could assign value to. She felt the wind whipping about them, the warmth of his skin through his leather vest, the way his abs felt beneath her. It was all abstract and not concrete but it was something and she would take it. She found herself wondering for the first time in all of her heavenly days what it would feel like to really touch someone. To feel all of the touch. To feel the pressure of the touch, the skin against the skin. She could only imagine it but her heart beat faster at the thought of it. She sighed as they approached the bus station, the city lights muting the canopy of stars that had been so clear just an hour before.

Daryl pulled up slowly to the front of the bus station, wondering how in the hell he was going to ask her for her number or if she would even give it to him. He had some insane need all the sudden to be near her and all the time. He felt almost irritated that he didn't want her to get off the back of his bike and most of all that she was going to be letting go of him soon.

"See ya later," he bit out, over his shoulder, just wanting to get it over with, the inevitable brush off that he just knew was coming.

Her hands lingered for a moment after she lifted her face away from his back, then he felt her hands drop away. He felt the absence of her warmth, of her proximity, of her beauty. Like being further away from her would somehow diminish her existence. He tried not to think too hard on the absurdity of his thoughts and what it might mean. As she swung her leg over the bike and planting her feet back on the ground, she found it odd that she had never been more unsteady. She had felt like she was floating along on the back of his bike and she never wanted to leave him. But she knew she had responsibilities to fulfill. She had to report off on her last assignment and give the update she knew Seth and some of the others were waiting for.

She hesitated near him, unsure of what to say now, this awkward tension between them, palpably hovering in the air. "Don't do that." She admonished gently, her mouth just barely turned up at the corners.

"Do what?" he demanded to know, hating that his voice had come out strained and angry.

"Don't act like this didn't mean somethin' to you." She looked at him pointedly and he found he couldn't form a proper response of denial.

Daryl stared at her a moment, contemplating what she had said and nodded slowly.

"So can I call you?," Daryl looked up at her, the way her nervous gaze kept flitting over the expanse of the bus station making him nervous as well. She reminded him of a bird, suddenly unable to decide if where it landed was safe or not.

Beth looked down at him then and studied him briefly. He was putting himself out here. From what she had read in his file it was not really in his character to initiate a second mode of contact; i.e. telephone call, e-mail, etc. She smiled brightly at him; pleased that she had some kind of effect on him. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad assignment after all. She always enjoyed them, but this one intrigued her to no end. It had been a long time since someone or something had piqued Beth's interest as much as Daryl Dixon did. Could have been centuries even. She knew she looked about all of 18, but in actuality she was much, much older than that. But time as a Guardian could never be measured in equal to that of mortals; that would be impossible. The dimensions were not the same, measurement of time and space could not be equal either.

"How about you pick me up here at sunrise?" She knew for a fact he had nothing planned for tomorrow. He never did on Sundays.

Daryl pulled his helmet off his head and turned his bike off, standing up to face her. "Who are you?" he asked her finally, his blue eyes boring into her bright green ones.

"I'm Beth" she said simply as if that was all the explanation that was needed. Daryl looked at her oddly for a moment, wondering why that really was enough explanation.

"I'll be here at 0600," Daryl whispered, deciding that he would give her the benefit of the doubt. Then he reached up to brush a stray lock of hair back behind her ear. She didn't flinch this time and he smiled. He wanted so very badly to kiss her right now, but he could count his knowledge of kissing on one hand so he just let his hand drop awkwardly back to his side.

"I'll see you then, Mr. Dixon," Beth said prissily before standing up on her tiptoes and without touching him, she placed a soft feather light kiss on his cheek.

Beth closed her eyes to press her lips to his cheek and she gasped inwardly at the feel of his beard stubble against her lips, the prickling sensation pleasant even as it tickled a bit. She set herself back down on the ground and after one last lingering look into his crystal blue eyes, she walked away, her fingers pressed to her lips as if she had just kissed him on the lips instead of his stubbly cheek. Suddenly she was afraid to ask Seth what all this might mean; why she could feel Daryl when she shouldn't be able to. Why she was so drawn to him? Why for the first time since she had been breathed into existence, she wondered what it would feel like to be human like Daryl. She swallowed thickly as she realized that she actually ached for that knowledge.

Daryl watched her go, clenching his fists at his sides in an attempt to keep from rubbing his cheek where her lips had just been. He got back on his bike and sped away, back in the direction of home and wondered where this angel had come from. He could hardly wait to see her again and that was an unfamiliar feeling to Daryl. He had never looked forward to anything in his life. It had never really gotten him anywhere before, having just barely survived his past and all the demons that come with it. But as Daryl thought on Beth, he knew that something had clicked into place inside of him. He couldn't put a name to it but he knew it was something good. That Beth was good and that being around her meant he might be able to be good too. As he watched the moon rise in the night sky, he pondered why she seemed so familiar to him and most of all he wondered why in the hell it felt like being with Beth seemed like coming home.

**Okay this thought formed a couple of weeks ago and would NOT let go. Maybe it was my muse. Who knows. She has a mind of her own. But anyways, I don't know how it turned out but I kind of am intrigued by the angel/drifter part of the Bethyl dynamic. So you guys tell me what you think if you like. Thanks a bunch for writing. Lyrics at the beginning are from the completely awe-inspiring Bring Me the Horizon and their song "Can You Feel My Heart". I don't own this song or anything TWD. **

**PS – Please excuse any typos or gross grammatical errors. I have to work in the morning and am anxious to get this out. Thanks again! **

**PPS- If you are following Vanilla Fields and/or And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, never fear, I promise I have not given up, but they are taking quite a bit of research these days for updates, which I kind of predicted so I guess it is what it is. I will be updating Vanilla Fields hopefully by Monday morning. **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Beth sat back and appraised Seth carefully, unable to believe what he was telling her. She was supposed to meet Daryl in less than an hour. Now Seth was telling her to take a step back from the assignment. She had always held his opinion in high regard. He was after all the senior guardian in their sector and answered directly to the archangels. He had been her advisor for the past 10 years and she knew she needed to listen to him but she had been looking so forward to seeing Daryl again. She was intrigued by him and mesmerized by the fact that she could actually feel his touch. It was exhilarating and heady and completely terrifying all at the same time. These were emotions that were not familiar to Guardians.

"All I'm saying Beth is that when these things happen, we are usually powerless to stop the momentum once it catches hold," Seth displayed his hands palms up. He knew Beth had a good head on her shoulders and she would make the best decision. He didn't have omnipotence but his instinct told him that if she pursued this assignment he was going to be losing one of his best guardians to the mortal world. Ultimately it was up to her. The archangels and powers most high had given the Guardians free will. Not all were selected to make the choice, but the ones who did were held to even higher standards to make the most sound decision.

"I know, it's just that I really think I might be able to help him," Beth chewed on her fingernail. It was a horrible habit but honestly she couldn't drink, couldn't smoke and what other vice could she have.

"Of course you can help him, Beth," Seth smiled softly at her. "You're one of the best at what we do here, but you have to be certain that you are ready to accept whatever the fates throw at you," Seth finished.

"But Seth, I _can_ accept it. I know what I am getting into. I promise," Beth looked at him, her eyes imploring and she batted her eyelashes at him, knowing full well it would accomplish nothing. But she had never ever wanted anything more than she wanted this assignment.

"Your nearly mortal charms are no good here, you know that," Seth laughed.

Beth sighed, feeling deflated. "I know. So what are you suggesting I do? Give up the assignment? Because I know that I can't do that. I _won't_ do that." She raised her chin up, determination fierce in her gaze.

Seth regarded her carefully. He sighed. He knew she was going to do whatever she felt she needed to. And he couldn't stop the fates now if he tried. All he could do was give her the best advice possible and hope that she heeded it. "All I'm asking is that you take a couple of days and make sure that this is really what you want. The assignment is not going anywhere, I assure you," Seth watched her roll the idea around in her head. She was beautiful to be certain. She had the angel card pegged all the way with her long blonde hair and baby blue eyes. Add to that her distinctive charm and innocent gaze and she had all the cliché qualities every angel should have.

Beth sighed deeply, feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders. This was really no different than any other day; she always felt that way. But this time, it was personal.

* * *

Daryl sped down the highway back towards the bus station. He had spent the better part of the night alternately tossing and turning in his bed and pacing the floor of his apartment, waiting for dawn. By 3:00 a.m. he was so pissed off at himself that he had went and laid back down, squeezing his eyes shut and willing himself to sleep. He was going to forget he ever met an angel who made him forget for a moment that he was a Dixon.

By 3:30 he had convinced himself that she had been a figment of his imagination. By 4:30 a.m. he had decided that she was real but he had obviously lost his ever fucking mind. It was the only explanation he had for being so damn obsessed with a girl he had barely even spent more than thirty minutes with. If Merle were here and caught a whiff of this particular brand of weakness, he'd never hear the end of it. The way Daryl was feeling, if Merle said as much as one cross one word to him, he'd probably punch him, brother or not.

By 5:00 a.m., he had played and replayed last night's encounter with Beth in his head over and over again. He knew every nuance of every syllable she had spoken. He had memorized the incantation of her voice and realized she had a tiny southern drawl and he wondered if she was from south Georgia just like him. He had tried his hardest to recall other details but he couldn't bring them to mind no matter how hard he tried. The exact shade of the blue of her eyes and how it reminded him of the most beautiful sky on a fall day when there were no clouds in the sky.

At 5:30 a.m., he resigned himself to his fate and for right now that seemed to be seeing this girl who had permeated his every thought and had worked her way under his skin without him even knowing it. He had already decided that the first thing he was going to ask her when he saw her this morning was how she had known his last name. She had called him specifically "Mr. Dixon", he remembered with clarity. He couldn't remember telling her his last name but she had him so seventy three ways of confused that he wasn't sure what was what anymore.

He scoffed at himself and almost turned the bike around then. It didn't make any damn sense that he had himself this worked up over some chick. She was pretty, sure. Maybe pretty wasn't the right word because she was more than that. She was beautiful; no arguing that. But she had an almost other-worldly beauty about her that was something else entirely. It was more than that, Daryl sensed. More than just her beauty that was drawing him in. She had a way about her that made him just see only her and only the moment in front of him. He couldn't put his finger on what it was. He just knew that he wanted to be near her.

With all the thinking on Beth he had done, he actually hadn't done much else, like sleep for instance. It was just him in his modest two bedroom house and never had the place felt more deserted and lonely, which was a strange sensation to him. He had always been comfortable in his own skin but ever since Beth had climbed on the back of his bike and held on tight, he hadn't been able to erase the thought of how it had felt with her arms wrapped around him. He realized with a start that he wanted her arms wrapped around him again. More than about anything he had ever wanted.

Daryl's experience with girls and women barely even qualified as experience. Sure he had bedded plenty of women in his day, all meaningless affairs, seldom more than a one night stand and he was always gone before morning. He never made a habit of bringing girls back to his own place; it was too personal.

Besides he had worked damn hard to be able to purchase his own home. It had taken years of working odd jobs and saving. Then he had slowly learned how to invest his money and while he would never be filthy rich he was very comfortable and would be for some time. He only worked at the shop to keep his hands busy and as a means of getting out of his own head from time to time.

He finally pulled up to the bus depot, a few people straggling in and out of the station. He looked for the telltale sign of her stark blonde hair and black leather jacket. He turned the bike off and reached inside his jacket for his pack of smokes. He pulled one out and stuck it between his lips, lighting it and taking a long draw. His eyes narrowed as he watched a girl about Beth's height approach. But as she got closer, he realized that it wasn't her.

He looked at the face of every person who passed through that station. Not that they could see it. Daryl had made it his personal project to be able to look at people without them being able to tell it. A thousand thoughts went through his head while he waited for her. He wondered where she lived. Where she was from. If she had any brothers or sisters. What she did for a living. These plus a thousand other questions running on repeat inside his head. He sighed deeply as yet another person came out of the terminal and them not being Beth.

* * *

Beth watched Daryl waiting for her at the depot. The one thing about being a Guardian was that mortals could only see you if you chose to make it happen. So right now she was fully cloaked, but watching him instead. She had known Seth was right in suggesting she take a step back but doing it and actually watching it unfold were two very different things. She hadn't been able to help herself from seeing him again any more than she could help the fact that she was a Guardian in the first place. She had not chosen this life; it had chosen her. She had never been human, never a mortal. Being a Guardian was the only thing she had ever known, ever since the most high powers had spoken her into existence.

Watching Daryl fidget with his helmet and study every face that passed through the depot that morning was one of the hardest things she had ever had to do and there were plenty of memories she could draw on where things had felt unbearably painful to watch. But those times all paled in comparison to this one instance at watching Daryl being colossally disappointed and trying like hell to not show it.

Daryl looked crestfallen when he realized that she was not going to be showing up to meet him. She felt a tug on her heart and almost appeared to him then, feeling unable to help the compulsion she had in wanting to help him.

If she could cry, then this was certainly an occasion that warranted tears. She watched as his face went from heartbroken to impassive to determined. She saw the moment the careful façade he had constructed for himself slipped back into place and witnessed the hard set in his jaw. What was more, she could see the calm aura that had surrounded him a few moments earlier transform to one of the darkest she had ever seen. She recognized it well though. It was what he projected when he was in self-destruct mode.

It broke her heart to see him like this and know that she caused him this particular brand of pain. She was sent here to be his Guardian angel, but who was going to protect him from her?

xxx-xxxx

Security made two rounds before Daryl finally decided that he had waited long enough. He tried to ignore the crushing weight on his chest at realizing that he had been stood up. He stomped his foot on the clutch, starting the bike and feeling that familiar thrum as the engine roared to life. He steered the bike back onto the road, feeling like the worst kind of fool. He couldn't believe he had spent an entire night wasting his time thinking about a girl who didn't even think enough of him to show up when she was supposed to.

Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to get shit-faced drunk. But seeing as how the sun was coming up, he didn't think it would be wise to go that route. He'd be passed out by noon and no good for anything that day. So Daryl did the only other thing he knew to do when things felt way out of his control; he revved the bike at the next light and sped off, feeling his heart beating faster as he tested the boundaries of the bike and of his mind as he raced on down the highway. He wove in and out of the cars, morning commuters starting to clog the byways. He reached his exit in record time and the tension was starting to ease out of his shoulders by the time he turned on the winding country road that led to his house. He took the curves with relative ease and sped up again, testing the limits of the bike and of the road.

The next few moments would always be a blur for Daryl later. He hit a slick spot in the road and felt the bike sliding sideways, out of his control. He tried to correct for it, but it was too late. Everything that had been speeding by at the pulse wave of light came to a screeching halt and then sped up again, this time, the scenery replaced by bits and pieces of his memories. He realized that it was true; your life really did flash before your eyes when you were getting ready to die. He saw a bright flash and heard a screech of metal and then his name, softly whispered in the early morning air. "Daryl" And then his vision faded, muted gradually from light to grey to black and then nothingness.

* * *

She had seen him driving carelessly, speeding down the highway and she held her breath, meditated and practically willed him to slow down, to no avail. She saw what was going to happen before it occurred. Before she knew it she was standing in the curve and as he rounded it and his bike started to slide on the oil slick he had failed to notice, she held up both her hands and turned her head to the side, hoping like crazy she had intervened in time.

She exhaled and opened her eyes, surveying the situation. Daryl was lying right at her feet and his bike about 50 feet beyond that. The bike looked no worse for wear and though Daryl was unconscious she could hear his heart beating for all the silence in this tiny slice of time they had managed to borrow. She had been able to intervene; this time.

She slid to the ground beside him and pulled his head onto her lap. He was likely just stunned and would be waking in a few minutes. When he did, she wanted her face to be the first thing he saw. She knew that she would likely have to tell him now. She would have to tell him that she was a Guardian and she hoped he was ready for the knowledge.

She smoothed his hair back from his forehead and marveled at how relaxed his features were in sleep. She ran her hand very lightly over his face and experimentally rubbed her thumb over the stubble over his jaw. She had to admit that she was a little disappointed that she didn't get the immediate jolt she had felt before when she had touched him. She sighed. Maybe she had placed too much emphasis on the whole thing.

Daryl started to stir in her lap and his eyes fluttered open slowly. As he opened his eyes, his gaze came to rest on hers. In all her days, Beth didn't think she had ever seen more captivating eyes than his. It was almost as if he could see right through her and for one brief moment she wondered if she would have to tell him at all.

"You stood me up," Daryl murmured. He looked vaguely confused.

"I'm sorry, I got held up," Beth whispered, stroking his hair, relishing the contact, tenable as it was.

He struggled to sit up. He ran one hand over his face and looked at her again, as if trying to figure out why she was there.

Daryl didn't know the exact moment it happened, but there was some transitional moment in opening his eyes to sitting up that he realized he really wanted to kiss her. He found himself studying every line of her lips and he ran his tongue over his bottom lip and leaned into her, pressing his lips against hers in the first kiss he had ever initiated willingly.

Beth sat absolutely still when she realized that Daryl's stare had settled on her lips. Beth's mouth went absolutely dry and she wondered briefly if the uncomfortable parched feeling was anything like the thirst mortals experienced. When he brought his lips to hers, she braced herself, not entirely sure what to expect. She sighed softly as none of the things she had thought a kiss would be were present; butterflies fluttering around in her stomach and all the things she had read about. Instead it was a tingle going down her spine and her knees went completely weak. Her heart beat loudly in her chest, so loud she was sure that the heavens could hear it. It was the merest brush of lips and it was over before it really got started but it was enough for Beth to bring her hand up to her mouth, as if she could hold in all that she was feeling right now. Daryl had just kissed her and she had never been kissed before. It entered her mind that she was not supposed to feel like this. She wasn't supposed to be affected this way. And if she wasn't supposed to feel him kiss her, she certainly wasn't supposed to want him to do it again. Was she? She briefly wondered if Seth had been right about everything. Because for the first time in her entire existence, Beth wished she was human. Just like Daryl.

**I am so AMAZED by you guys! One chapter and it has received more reviews, favorites and follows than any of my other fics at this stage. You all are the best. I am still getting to individual replies but I will get there eventually. :) **

**I hope I did this chapter justice. I know most of you probably wanted to kill me mid chapter when Beth stood him up. Hope the end made up for it somewhat! So yeah this was supposed to be a one-shot but it received such overwhelming response that I felt it deserved to be explored. So hope you all are enjoying it and let me know how you think this will play out and what will happen next. Keep calm and Bethyl on people. October is coming! Until next time, xoxoxoxo **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Daryl slowly came to consciousness and realized that he was sitting up on the side of the road and kissing a beautiful blonde. And not just any one, but the very one who had haunted his thoughts the past several hours. The same one who had stood him up, he thought angrily. Despite the fact that he heard Beth sigh against his mouth, he dragged his lips from her and sat back, catching his breath. He looked to her and realized that she was doing the same, pressing her fingers to her lips. He could just make out the slightest hint of her lips turned up at the corners, indicating a smile.

Daryl felt oddly conflicted about that smile. He felt happy to see her happy and wanted to smile back at her like some kind of idiot, he guessed. But a bigger part of him was fucking pissed that she could be smiling when he spent the past hour thinking she didn't give a shit about him. And now here she was with him on the side of the road, his bike lying haphazardly behind them and he had just kissed her. It didn't make any damn sense to him the sequence of events. He couldn't remember seeing her car anywhere and he didn't even know if she did drive, but they were in the middle of bumfuck nowhere Georgia and there was no way he was believing she was hitchhiking out way out here.

He stood up abruptly then. "What the fuck are you even doin' here?" he demanded.

Beth stood up as gracefully as possible, facing him and whatever wrath he was about to rain down upon her. After not showing up this morning, she knew she deserved it. She knew she wasn't supposed to be seeing him right now, but since she was already here she may as well make the most of it.

"You were in danger." Beth said, trying to be as vague as possible. She knew he would find out sooner or later but she wasn't sure she was ready to divulge all her secrets just yet.

"Danger, huh? What would you know about me being in danger or anythin' else about me for that matter? Ain't like you even bothered to show up today," Daryl nearly spat the words at her.

Beth didn't back down though. She knew he was angry but she also knew that most of that anger stemmed from fear of disappointment and rejection, which she had summarily done both today.

Daryl stared at her, holding his hands stiffly at his sides. Beth looked down at the ground and then back up at him, her eyelashes fluttering slightly as she looked up at him through a lock of hair that had fallen over her eye.

"I'm here now. Doesn't that count for somethin'?," Beth asked him, her eyes imploring him to believe her. No matter what Seth had said, Beth knew that she could no sooner stay away from him than she could cease to exist. Right now, it seemed like her very existence hinged on helping Daryl. So much pain, she could see it. She could hear it in every syllable he uttered.

Daryl surveyed her carefully. "Where were you?," he changed tactics. It really would help just a little if she wasn't so damned beautiful standing there, a hand on each hip, challenging every word that came out of his mouth. It was maddening.

"I was here, waiting for you," Beth was trying her hardest not to give away her immortal status, but he was making it really difficult with his probing questions.

"And how did you know my name?," he paused mid-sentence as if he had just heard the answer to his previous question. "What do you mean, you were waiting for me?" Daryl felt a chill of cold air sweeping over his spine, not in a bad way but it was as if something was telling him that something pretty big was happening. Daryl wasn't entirely sure if he was happy about that or not. He waited for her response, knowing with a certainty in his gut that what she was about to tell him was important. He kept thinking back to all the times he had seen her and she had disappeared but no matter how much he thought on it, it never really made sense to him and he was always left with the same conclusion: that he was crazy. He'd hate to see Merle get hold of this whole thing; he'd have a hay day giving Daryl hell about it.

Beth didn't know how to tell him what he was asking of her without completely giving everything away. She risked the assignment if she told him, but then again she risked it if she didn't. Sighing in frustration, Beth faced him head-on. "It might be better for me to show you than to tell you," Beth said, a slight waver in her voice that had never been there before.

"Show me?," Daryl scoffed. "Listen darlin', I don't mean to burst your bubble, but I ain't in the habit of takin' home strange women." He looked at her pointedly as if daring her to challenge him. And it was true too. He never brought a woman home with him, too much trouble for one thing. He had gotten into more than one scuffle with women who saw him as their "pet project". They'd go to bed with him and take one look at the scars on his back, deciding that he somehow needed fixin'. He had dispensed with those women as fast as he could but it didn't keep them from pursuing him even more. He had had more than his fair share of stalker do-gooders, women looking to change him into something he knew he could never be.

"I know that," Beth said calmly, taking a step closer to him as if drawn by a magnet. "Why don't we go back to your house and we can sit down and discuss all this. I promise you if you want me to go after I finish, I'll leave and you'll never have to see me again," Beth said, hoping it didn't come to that, but she knew she had to put that out there in order for him to agree to talk to her.

When Beth agreed with him, it was like the fire in the pit of his belly over this whole situation had been suddenly extinguished and he couldn't figure out for the life of him, why he was supposed to be arguing with her in the first place. So instead of telling her she was out of her goddamn mind, he nodded at her and walked over to his bike, appraising the damage. It didn't occur to him until later that he was doing exactly what he said he didn't do. Here he was taking home a stranger.

He walked around the bike, surveying carefully and shook his head slowly, unable to quite believe that there was not a single scratch on the bike anywhere. He grabbed it with two hands and hoisted it upright. He unbuckled the helmet on the back of the seat and handed it to Beth who had followed him wordlessly to the location of the accident.

He jumped on the back of the bike and looked to her, where she was busy fastening the helmet. He remembered distinctly that he had done it for her the last time. He could still remember the feel of her velvet soft skin along her jaw line. She finally looked to him and nodded, climbing aboard the bike, nestling herself against his backside and snaking her arms around his waist, gripping him tightly and pressing her palms inward, causing him a sharp intake of breath. He suddenly felt like all his air had been cut off and it had nothing to do with the fact that Beth was hanging onto him for dear life as they sped off towards his house.

* * *

Seth watched the exchange and shook his head. He looked to the Archangel Josiah to his left. "It looks like she has already made her choice," he remarked, his eyes downcast.

The archangel didn't speak but nodded at Seth. They almost never spoke directly to anyone. Communication was almost solely done through gestures and glances and oddly enough no interpretation was needed. The common belief was that it was because the Archangels were more highly evolved than any of the rest of them.

Seth let out the breath he had been holding since Daryl had overturned his bike. "Are we to let this happen then?" Seth had heard of it happening before but it had never happened to any of his charges.

"What happens will happen, we are to be but guides," The Archangel Josiah's voice was rough and smooth somehow all at the same time.

Seth looked at him, unable to hide the stark surprise in his face. It had been a long time since he had heard the voice of an Archangel.

Seth sighed, his heart heavy that he would lose Beth. But he also felt a bit happy that Daryl was going to be gaining a true companion.

"It hasn't happened yet, my charge," Josiah admonished gently. "She still has to choose," he said wisely.

"That is true. She could still choose to stay," Seth said the words but he knew in his heart that the words did not reach his eyes, because he really could not believe that, with what he had just witnessed, that Beth would be able to choose anything else but to be human. It was so obvious, even Seth thought he might understand.

* * *

Beth was seated across from Daryl in his comfortably furnished living room. She sat on the chair and he sat on the sofa directly adjacent to her. He had his palms resting on his thighs, awaiting her explanation.

"I'm not sure where to start so I guess I'll start with the truth," Beth took a deep breath. She didn't know why she felt so nervous. He was a mortal after all, but Beth didn't think she had ever been more intrigued by a human before. He fascinated her in a way that made her want to know absolutely everything about him, not just what she saw on the outside and her gentle observations, but to really know what went on inside that head of his.

Daryl looked at her and nodded. Her hands kept fluttering up to her hair, trying to smooth away those perpetual fly-aways that always seemed to slip out at the most inconvenient times. She seemed consistently exasperated by her unruly hair but Daryl was intrigued by it. It was the color of the wheat fields across from the farm up the road and blew about in the wind in much the same manner. He found his palms were twitching with the effort it was taking to keep himself from reaching out and touching it, smoothing back the strands that she had still managed to miss in all her concentration on what she was about to say.

"I've been watching you for some time now," Beth began.

Beth sat back in shock as Daryl sprang from the seat across from her and was standing by the door in moments. Daryl was reminded instantly of the women who had tried to force their way into his life insisting that there was a better way of things.

"Get out," the phrase was forced out between his clenched teeth, disdain dripping from each word. He should have known it. She had meddled her way into his life and now she was probably going to mess with his mind too. He was having a hell of a time reconciling his anger now with the reverence he felt just moments ago in thinking about how much he wanted to touch her hair and run his fingers through it. What the fuck was even happening, he thought?

"Daryl, wait," Beth stood up and walked over to face him. "Just let me explain. I swear I'm not a stalker." Beth looked at him, her eyes searching his and begging him to take her seriously.

Daryl took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm listening," Daryl stood back and crossed his arms over his chest. He knew he was being a colossal ass, but he couldn't seem to help himself. He was just so sick and tired of people expecting something more of him than what he actually was.

"The thing is I'm not what you think I am and try to hear me out before you pass any judgment," This was definitely harder than she thought it would be. She had never had to explain her immortality to anyone before and have it matter. She had always accepted things at face value before, but now that she had met Daryl, nothing seemed the same. She felt as if her whole existence was riding on this very conversation.

She stopped herself suddenly and told him simply, "You'll want to get that." He looked puzzled by her statement until he was distracted by the sound of his phone ringing in his pocket.

Daryl looked at Beth suspiciously. He didn't think she had heard the ring before he did. "He's gone baby brother," Merle's voice was gruff and thick with tears. Daryl had only heard Merle cry twice in his whole life. Once when their ma died and then again when his girlfriend in 10th grade had broken up with him and told him he was nothing but a white trash redneck. After that, tears had never graced the face of Merle Dixon a day since.

Daryl didn't have to ask who he was talking about. Merle was talking about their old man. "How?" Daryl found that his own voice sounded a bit strained.

"They called from the hospital and I got here just before. Car wreck, hit a tree out on old Peach Grove Road. He was drunk, stupid sumbitch," Merle laughed mirthlessly.

Daryl couldn't put thoughts together, but managed, "Want me to come down there?"

"Guess if you wanna see him, better do it now. I'm leaving here myself. Guess we need to meet tomorrow and make arrangements," Merle said. "But I'll tell the nurses that you're comin', if ya want."

"Yeah, that'd be ok," was about all Daryl could manage.

"Talk to ya tomorrow baby brother," Merle said and the line went silent.

Daryl pushed to end the call and stuffed his phone back in his pocket. He brought both hands up to his face and rubbed them down over his face. He felt the stinging at the back of his eyes and bit down on his tongue to keep them from falling over his eyelids.

"It's my old man. He passed. I gotta go to the hospital." Daryl looked at Beth and was oddly comforted by the fact that she was there with him now.

"I'll go with you if you like," Beth offered.

Daryl nodded and stood up. They took the motorcycle again and as they drove the distance to the hospital he felt like he was on a whirlwind, riding here and there and always this angel riding with him. They soon arrived at the small county hospital.

The inside was stark and sterile and stale all at the same time. All of the things that Daryl hated as it reminded him so much of when his Ma had died after the fire. She had been brought here to this very hospital, their plan to Life Flight her to the big hospital in downtown Atlanta but she hadn't made it that far. Daryl thought it absurd that his parents had died in the same place. It seemed like the worst kind of irony.

They were directed at the nurses' station to the room where his father lay. Daryl entered the room, Beth following closely behind. He walked slower as he approached the hospital bed where his father lay, his eyes closed in eternal sleep. He thought of all the times he had stared at his father passed out from drinking. All the times he had collapsed after a bender and slept for two days, waking up only to beat his mother to the point she couldn't walk. When he was finished with her, he'd often turn to Merle or Daryl or both. It seemed hardly fair that he looked peaceful, Daryl thought. He should have died with a frown on his face. Daryl wanted to scream at the injustice but instead he felt the damned tears prickling at his eyes again. He turned and strode from the room, leaving Beth to stand there in his wake.

Beth watched the whole thing and realized suddenly that it very well could be all her fault. She had intervened in Daryl's accident. A wreck had been imminent in his case and now knowing that his father had died in much the same manner that had been intended for Daryl Dixon, Beth knew with a certainty that it was because she had intervened that his father's life had been claimed. It was the way of things and it couldn't be helped. She already knew the history between him and his father and even Merle, his brother. His father had been a violent man to say the least. If his time had not come today it would have been soon anyway. It shocked her suddenly that if she had not intervened, then Daryl would have been lost to her forever. She wasn't sure how she felt about those two conflicting thoughts. She had never thought of things in such black and white terms before. With immortality there was always a certain grey area, a place where things hovered between right and wrong, left and right, absolute and abstract.

Beth followed him slowly out of the room and into the hallway where he ducked into the stairwell that led to the four floors below them. They let the door close behind them and Daryl sank onto the first step, taking deep breaths in and out.

Beth watched a little helplessly at first, but then sunk down beside him and placed one hand on his arm and squeezed gently, rubbing her thumb back and forth over the skin of his wrist. Daryl looked over at her and down then at her hand on his arm and he tried to pull himself away.

"Daryl." She uttered the word as a statement, maybe even a promise or a plea, as she used her other hand to still his arm, trying to keep him from pulling away, which was instinctual for him she knew.

Daryl looked at her for a moment. "I don't even know why I'm so upset. The son of a bitch beat me nearly every day until I was sixteen and could stand up to him," Daryl seethed with anger at the memory.

Beth saw the anger etched on his features and she could hear the contempt in his voice as he spoke of his father and his abuse. But when Beth looked in Daryl's eyes, she saw something else there too. It looked an awful lot like hurt and for some reason, even with all the sadness Beth had seen everywhere in the world, seeing that expression in Daryl's face wrecked her. And when the tears spilled over his eyelids and he looked at her so helplessly, Beth knew she was just lost forever.

She pulled his head into her lap where he seemed to relax against her then. Instead of pulling away, he leaned into her and let the tears fall and she could see the giant sobs that shook his shoulders. She rubbed her hand over his hair, smoothing down the shaggy strands that seemed unruly unless you really knew Daryl Dixon, then you just knew that it was part of his charm. She didn't think for right now about what all this meant, his father dying and him opening up to her now. She just closed her eyes and poured her soul into willing Daryl to find comfort somehow.

Daryl, like Merle, had probably only ever cried two other times in his life. He didn't cry when his Ma died. He wanted to, but he just couldn't let himself. The old man would have made him regret it if he had. He had cried when his dog Pepper had died. That dog had been the best friend he ever had. The other time was when he had been beat up in the 7th grade by three of the school's biggest bullies. Merle had teased him endlessly about it, but then Merle had started training him to defend himself. The next time the boys had come after Daryl, he had been ready for them and the three of them had required doctor's visits by the time Daryl had gotten through with them. There had never been a question after that about messin' with either of the Dixon boys.

Daryl didn't know how long they stayed in that stairwell. He didn't know how long he let her hold him in her lap and he tried to pretend like it was the most normal thing in the world to let her see him as vulnerable as he was right now. He felt raw and he ached and it hurt. For once in Daryl Dixon's life, he actually let someone see that part of him and he wasn't afraid of it.

**Okay guys, I hope I did this chapter justice. There was a lot going on, I know. My muse has her own ideas about how this story should go and I have mine of course. So we have had to have a meeting of the minds, so to speak. This story is still getting a decent response and I am about 90% sure that I know where I want the story to go, but I could always use your guys input. Seriously, I have been known to write whole chapters based on a little blurb from someone in an email asking if this or that could maybe happen. This is as much your story, fellow Bethylers, as it is mine, so leave me love on your way out. Thanks so much for all the favorites, follows, reviews and word of mouth recs. I SOOOOOO much appreciate you guys. Until next time, xoxoxoxoxo **


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**As always, I own nothing from The Walking Dead (it'd be nice though). I only borrow the characters to do my bidding. I also own none of the songs incorporated into this chapter. Enjoy! **

"_Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us" –_ Thomas Paine

They were sitting on the back of Daryl's bike now, right in front of the old man's place, where Daryl had grown up. He had finally been able to stop crying in that stairwell and he felt like he might in some way have let go some of the past, as if the tears he had shed crying on Beth's shoulder had bled the sadness out of him. Now he was just left with this restlessness like he had to somehow purge all the bad he was feeling.

He shifted a bit to get off and felt Beth move behind him. She pulled her arms from around his waist and he instantly felt an emptiness at the sudden loss of warmth. She got off the bike and he followed after her. It was a cool night tonight, almost unseasonable for this time of year. The sun had just set and there was still a reddish pink cast in the sky, bathing the landscape in a kaleidoscope of late evening glow.

"Is this the house you grew up in?" Beth was the first to break the silence.

"Yeah, we moved in here right after our old place burned down," Daryl looked at her, embarrassed suddenly that this was what he had come from.

It wasn't much to look at, the old homestead. A screened in front porch, the boards worn and cracked, the screen torn in a few places which rendered it pretty much useless when the mosquitoes were bad. The cornflower blue paint on the siding had seen better days and was peeling back noticeably, the hot Georgia summers having taken their toll. He knew what they would find inside, a worn out sofa, his dad's easy chair listing slightly to the side, the leather cracking so bad in some places the stuffing poked through. The carpet had been ripped up a long time ago and his dad had started to refinish the floors but had never completed it. His father had rarely finished anything he started, just like fathering his two sons. As a result, the boards creaked and were splintered in places and Daryl hadn't gone barefoot in the place in years.

They walked up the short walk and Daryl opened the screen door, hearing its customary creak at the hinges and the slam behind them, the hydraulic mechanism having long since given out. He eased open the door to the living room feeling the stale air hit his nostrils, filling his senses with the smell of cigarette smoke, booze and sweat cloying his senses. The stench of old whiskey hung in the air and ghosts of drunken nights echoed off the walls, threatening to overwhelm Daryl with the ricochet.

"It ain't much to look at." Daryl felt the need to apologize; he didn't know why he always felt that way. He couldn't change his past any more than he could stop breathing. He looked to Beth and she just smiled gently at him, putting him at ease. She had that way about her. Like she knew what you were feeling before you did, he thought.

Beth looked at Daryl standing there, looking like he was uncomfortable in his own skin and like he might crawl out of it any moment. She knew he was embarrassed that this was the house he had spent his childhood. But Beth, sadly enough, had seen much much worse on this earth.

"I'm sure your father did the best he could, Daryl" She said gently.

Daryl snorted, "Sure, if you consider the best he could as beating the hell out of his sons every night. Used to be Momma he hit. Until she died, then it was just me and Merle. He left as soon as he could. But then that just left me. I'd hide from him sometimes."

"In your closet?" Beth's voice was nearly a whisper now.

Daryl looked up at her surprised. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"It's where a lot of kids go when they want to hide out from this world." She smiled softly. "Just logical."

Daryl nodded, glancing over at where his old man had left his recent change of clothes laying on the sofa. He picked up his father's pants and fingered the leather on the belt. Without even thinking about what he was doing, he pulled the belt from the loops and suddenly he could remember exactly how it felt; the stinging ache of a belt against the bare skin of his back. Sometimes his father would be so overtaken by the whiskey that ran through him like blood in his veins, he would forget to turn the belt the right way and hit him with the buckle instead of the softer leather. It was where many of the scars etched on the canvas of Daryl's back had come from, the bite of the metal piercing the tender skin there, blood crusting over scab over scab for days later; the first wounds never having a chance to heal before the next beating came. He drew in a shaky breath as the memories assaulted him.

"You should burn it," Beth suggested and he turned to look at her then, the belt still in his hands.

"This belt?" Daryl looked at her questioningly.

"Anything bad that reminds you of him." Beth suggested.

Daryl scoffed. "That would be the whole fuckin' house then" Daryl glanced around the room. He could think of a few other things besides the belt he'd like to set fire to.

"Well guess we can't burn the whole thing down. Although it'd be nice," She grinned at him then. The last bits of light were coming through the slats in the blinds and bathing her face in light and reflecting off her flaxen hair, like sunlight on wheat fields in an over-bright summer noon. "Just find things that you want to say goodbye to and we'll make a bonfire in the back yard."

Daryl hesitated a moment as she stood there waiting for him to respond.

"You have to put it away, Daryl." She said.

"What if you can't?" he replied, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders, wondering if he would ever be able to let go of the past. Felt like sometimes it was all he had to hold onto.

"You have to...or else it kills you...here," She finished smiling at him softly and placing her hand over her heart.

Daryl's own heart swelled then at her unshakable faith in him. It was evident in her stare. Making his decision and spurred on by her faith in his ability to let it all go, Daryl nodded at her and walked around the room, all the memories of his father filling his senses. He didn't even feel the tears as they traced their way down his face as he stalked all over the house, gathering all the items he wanted to get rid of; several whiskey bottles, every belt his father owned, the fly swatter the old man sometimes used for teaching a lesson, the antenna on the television. Sounded strange, but he had to spend many a night of his childhood, turning the antenna this way or that at his father's whim, trying to get the channels to come in properly because there was never enough money for luxuries like cable, let alone food and clothing. He ripped the antenna from the top of the television.

Daryl searched through the cupboards of the kitchen, finding every single half empty bottle of whiskey and adding them to the steadily growing pile of shit he couldn't wait to set fire to. The last thing he came to was the old quilt from his mother and father's bed. He had mixed feelings about it. His mother had made it when he was very small, before everything went to shit. Before she got sick, before his father started drinking. He remembered as a very small boy climbing into bed with them when there was a storm outside. His mother would pull the quilt around his shoulders and he felt safe; like nothing could ever hurt him.

But there were other memories stitched into that quilt too. Memories of his father bringing home whore after whore and the next morning when he'd see one or the other of them wrapped up in it and nothing else and his stomach turning, thinking his mother would be sad to see the quilt she had lovingly made being used in such a tawdry manner.

He remembered one woman very well, her hair a fiery red, her breath stinking of stale beer and her lips stained with cheap red lipstick. She had been standing in the kitchen, frying eggs in a pan, like she belonged there or some shit. She had turned seeing him peeking at her around the doorjamb and she had grinned at him maliciously opening the quilt, exposing herself to him. He couldn't have been more than nine years old, much too young for her to be making suggestive moves. He had felt oddly conflicted standing there, his young body betraying his thoughts and he had thrown up there in the kitchen.

That had earned him a beating that day. His father had heard his retching in his still drunken state and made him clean it up. He hadn't been able to find a towel so he had taken his shirt off and cleaned it up after that. Daryl didn't have many clothes and he had had to throw that shirt away that night, unable to bear the thought of anything from that day to be near him. That included the quilt. He had never seen it the same way again. He ripped it off the bed now and used it to carry all the shit he had gathered from around the house into the back yard.

Beth watched as Daryl opened one of the bottles of whiskey, thinking it would make a good accelerant. Beth never said a word, just helped him arrange all the items into some semblance of a pyramid. She watched as he had gathered all the items. She had sighed to herself as he retrieved the quilt. The pain of his childhood was etched into his features and pressing him down the weight of it on his shoulders.

Daryl struck a match and let it fall to the ground, feeling frustrated that it didn't ignite immediately. He lit another one and picked up a piece of paper from their makeshift kindling and lit it, letting the flames lick away at it until a fairly big flame formed. He dropped the paper onto the pile and he and Beth moved instinctively back as the flames caught the vapor of the whiskey and sent the whole pile of shit into a blazing fire.

They stepped further back as the wall of heat reached their faces, a wave of unmoving air coming off it and quelling the cool of the night summer air. It was full dark now and Daryl was glad of it; he reached up to his face, finally feeling the tears that had fallen there, and wiped his hands over his cheeks.

Beth sat down on the grass, pulling her knees up in front of her and Daryl sat down beside her, his actions mirroring hers. He rested his head on his hands propped on his knees. Beth moved her hand to the back of his head and let her fingers curl against his neck and marveled at the feel of his hair, slightly shaggy, as it rested against the tender skin there.

Daryl closed his eyes as he felt her hand come to rest on the back of his head. He leaned into her touch and looked over at her. She smiled at him. "Feel better?" She asked him gently.

How had she known that this was what he needed? How did this girl who looked about half his age become so wise in her short life. He suspected she had an old soul; she was not like anyone he had ever met. In just this short time he had known her, he had found a lifetime's worth of comfort. He was finding that he wanted to be near her all the time. Couldn't imagine his life was ever any different.

Daryl sighed. Let out a lifetime of air that he had been holding inside his damaged body. He knew he had to answer her question instead of being lost in his thoughts. He gazed into her eyes and he had never seen anyone more beautiful than this beautiful angel before him. "I am now." His eyes searched hers and he found exactly what he had been looking for his whole life and didn't even know it. In Beth, he was finding redemption. Finding forgiveness. Finding himself. And as the fire blazed in front of them, he felt a kindling of a different type. A spark of something he was not sure of, but he wanted to find out. See where the spark led and not really caring much if he burned up in the process.

* * *

"I'm tellin' ya, Dad wouldn't given two shits about this thing," Daryl huffed. "Sorry Father," Daryl murmured in the priest's direction, suddenly hyperaware of his terrible cursing habit. Beth was sitting next to him and Merle was sitting on the other side of Beth. They had arrived late to the meeting with the priest and thus Merle hadn't gotten to formally meet Beth yet. Daryl wanted to smack his stupid brother into the ground every time he looked over at Beth his eyes drinking her in. Daryl scowled at Merle, shook his head, but Merle was unflappable. He probably thought he'd have a shot at Beth, but Merle thought he had a shot with all the ladies he met.

"Well I want a funeral and visitation and the graveside service, the whole nine," Merle stated emphatically and for the life of him, Daryl could not figure how in the hell he was related to him. It was like the universe had picked out two completely opposite people and said, "hey let's make this interesting".

"How about we compromise?," Father MacManus suggested and Daryl and Merle looked at one another. Daryl glanced to Beth and she smiled encouragingly. How she had convinced him to let her come along and help, he would never be able to figure. But he was glad she was here now. Somehow her presence was oddly comforting. He was still having a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact that his father was gone and she seemed to know when to say just the right thing and when to just let him be. It actually made him uncomfortable that he was so comfortable around her after knowing her for such a short time.

Just like last night when she had suggested he burn some of his past. He had awakened this morning feeling slightly refreshed with a new outlook on things, like somehow all the bad they had burned to ashes last night really was gone.

"What did you have in mind?," Daryl asked, moving his hand back to his knee, which he had been bouncing nervously periodically and now was not a difference. Beth reached over and placed her hand over his and squeezed ever so slightly, the soft skin of her palm brushing against the coarseness of the back of his hand. He took a deep breath and forced himself to be calm. He turned his hand over in hers and let his fingers lace with hers, just like it was the most natural thing in the world; like he had held hands with her a million times before.

Beth closed her eyes briefly as she felt it again. She had felt nothing when she placed her hand over his but when he turned his palm over and linked their fingers together, she had felt it again, that exhilarating warmth and the tiniest tingling that went rippling down her entire arm. It didn't scare her this time like it had before; this time she had anticipated it and it was the most warm feeling she had ever had. She found herself longing to touch more of him, wanted to run her fingers up his arm and curl her fingers around his biceps and see what the muscles felt like rippling under her hands. She felt a blush creep up her cheeks and it was a foreign feeling because angels didn't blush. They didn't get embarrassed by anything. It was a foreign emotion. Beth then admonished herself because they were sitting in front of Father MacManus, after all.

Father kept sneaking glances at her, his expression open and warm but curious. Out of the all the people in this room, he was the only one who knew her true identity. He was a priest after all. She had known him forever, literally as long as he had been on the earth and she had brought the Dixon brothers here, knowing instinctively that the priest could help them in closing this chapter of their lives.

"How about we have a funeral, immediately followed by a graveside service. Beth, perhaps you could choose a selection and sing for the attendees?" Father MacManus smiled, his eyes meeting hers and Beth smiled shyly in return.

"Of course, Father. As long as Merle and Daryl think it is okay." Beth felt Daryl squeeze her hand and Merle murmured some semblance of agreement.

"You sing?" Daryl asked her and she glanced at him. His blue eyes pierced her own and she took in a deep breath.

"Yes, sometimes," Beth admitted. "I can sing if you would like." His open expression said he would.

Daryl had never heard her voice but he just knew somehow she had a beautiful voice and now he couldn't wait to hear it.

"Boys, you'll not soon be forgettin' it when you hear this one's voice. Has the voice of an angel, she does." Father MacManus' Irish accent was thick as he looked at Beth then and he winked at her. It was just the briefest of winks and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his intentional pun.

"An angel, huh? Well, she sure does look like an angel," Merle drawled. "Sing us something sugar," Merle drew out the last word, letting the 'r' fall silent in his deep southern dialect.

Beth looked to Daryl then and he dipped his head once, giving her the go-ahead while eyeing her, the intrigue evident in his gaze.

Beth cleared everything out of her mind and took a deep breath, letting her voice carry in the small vestry.

"_Late last night, lying in my bed_

_Couldn't sleep, thoughts running through my head. _

_I lit a candle while words you said_

_Came to me. _

_You taught me how much I still have to learn_

_How once time passes, it doesn't return. " _

Beth paused and turned her body slightly, so she was looking right at Daryl. He had never let go of her hand and their fingers were still intertwined. She felt his thumb brush lightly against her palm as she sang the words. Somehow her impromptu concert seemed like much more than just something done on the spur of the moment. As she sang the words, she felt like she was singing them to Daryl. That they were the only ones in the room. Everything else fell away from them as she sang the chorus.

"_Life is like a flame, it starts with a spark_

_Then it's a slow burn. _

_Slow burn, I think I'm gonna be up awhile tonight._

_Slow burn, all the memories are burning bright_

_Slow burn, I think it's gonna take a long time for this light to flicker out" _

Beth let her voice fade out naturally, the last words almost a whisper, and she glanced at Daryl who seemed to be trapped by the moment as much as she was. Her heart was clamoring in her chest and she felt convinced that Father MacManus saw straight through this whole façade. That she was teetering dangerously on the line drawn in the sand. As she looked into Daryl's eyes and his gaze mirrored her own, she wasn't sure she cared which side of the line she landed on. Either way, she was falling.

"Well sugar, that was just about the best thing ole Merle has ever heard," Merle said, clapping Daryl loudly on the back. "I don't know where you found her baby brother, but she's a keeper for sure." Merle laughed.

They said their polite goodbyes to Father MacManus and headed out of the church. They stood at Daryl's bike, an awkward silence filling the air between them.

"Well if Darylina here ain't gonna introduce me, I'll introduce myself. I'm Merle Dixon as you might have guessed." Merle extended his hand and Beth took it in hers, giving his hand a firm shake. She waited expectantly but there was no delightfully frightening shock that went up her arm. Her heart did not beat wildly and her pulse didn't race. So it really was just something that she felt with Daryl only. She wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing, but she was pretty sure it could only mean one thing.

Merle held her hand for a bit longer than necessary and she felt Daryl bristle beside her and reach for her hand immediately as it dropped back to her side once Merle finally released it. She looked at him and grinned. She thought it was pretty cute that he was jealous of his brother's more than obvious affection for her. He didn't meet her gaze, just glared at Merle.

Merle must have noticed it too. "Relax baby brother, I ain't gonna go after your girl." Merle laughed then.

"She ain't my girl," Daryl scoffed and he could feel his face reddening. He hated that his brother still had the capacity to get a rise out of him. He wondered for a moment if that would ever change and pretty much decided that it wouldn't. Merle would always be there, taunting him. He figured even if Merle were gone from this world, he would probably come back to haunt him just to make his life a living hell. It was just the way it was with them.

Beth fought the urge to giggle. He really was cute when he was exasperated as he clearly was with his brother now. Though Daryl was aggravated by his brother's presence, Beth was glad for it. Despite all his gruffness and crude humor, Beth liked Merle. He had spunk and character and he wasn't afraid to say what he was thinking. The world could use more of that, she thought.

"Well, I'm pleased to meet you Merle. I know Daryl is glad you were here to help each other out. Aren't you Daryl?" But Daryl just grunted his response and that tickled Beth all the more.

"Old Darylina ain't much for words sweetheart, but you'll get used to it. I'm sure he has other talents too," Merle suggested leeringly and chuckled at his own joke.

Even Beth blushed at that one, worried that her earlier thoughts had been audible.

"Merle, just shut the fuck up," Daryl swore he could kill him with his bare hands sometimes. He glanced to Beth, his face bathed in a blush that he felt started at his feet and worked its way up.

"It's okay," Beth reassured him. "I know Merle didn't mean anything by it, did you Merle. Crudeness does not become you Merle," Beth admonished gently. She looked at Merle pointedly and he had the good grace to stammer a bit.

"Well sure," Merle began, "I guess I should mind my tongue more around the fairer sex, huh" Merle scratched his head and shook it as if unable to figure how some girl he had just met had managed to get him to willingly censor himself.

Daryl chuckled. He had never seen Merle flustered before and it felt so damn satisfying seeing Merle put in his place for a change.

"Well, I'll see you girls tomorrow. I gotta hot date tonight and don't wanna to be late," Merle chuckled and then glanced to Beth uncomfortably, clearing his throat. "Take good care of our boy now, ya hear?" Merle drawled and with that he was crossing the street to his car and driving away.

"Merle is-" Daryl began and Beth turned to him, letting her hand drift up and placing her finger against his lips. She didn't know what propelled her hand into that position but it was as if her body had a mind of its own.

"Don't worry about it. I'm not." Beth smiled at him and she was very aware of how soft his lips felt under her finger.

Daryl brought his hand up to her wrist, gripping it lightly as her finger hovered over his lips. He had an almost overwhelming urge to take her finger into his mouth. He took a deep breath to clear his brain of such crazy thoughts and instead brought her hand away from his mouth, curling his fingers under hers and bringing her hand to his lips, dropping a feather light kiss on the back of her hand. It was an age old gesture, he'd seen it on movies a dozen times and it had always seemed so cliché to Daryl but what he was feeling right now as he looked at this beautiful girl standing in front of him was anything but cliché, not to Daryl. He had never felt this way about anyone before. Had never wanted to kiss a girl's fingers or hand. Had never wanted to open doors for a girl before.

But suddenly looking at Beth, remembering how she had sung to him in that office just now and all she'd made him feel last night at his old man's place, he knew something had changed. Feeling what he was feeling and he wanted all of it. He wanted to be her white knight. He wanted to be that stupid sap that brought her flowers and candy and took her out to nice dinners. He wanted her to be the last person he talked to before he went to sleep and the first face he saw when he opened his eyes every morning. And all he had done so far was kiss her and even that kiss seemed like it had been a dream, like something out of another world.

That was what Beth seemed to him too, like something out of another world. She had been dropped into his life and he didn't know who or what he had to thank for it, but he was thankful nonetheless.

* * *

Daryl looked out over the meager crowd that had gathered for his father's funeral. He fought the urge to loosen his tie, feeling like it might choke him right where he stood. He wasn't sure which was worse, the fact that his tie was trying to strangle him to death or that his emotions were so heavy, weighing him down, threatening to swamp him and he just might drown this time.

He tried to listen to Father MacManus as he delivered the eulogy but his childhood kept playing on repeat in his brain. Merle was to his left, looking equally uncomfortable, all trace of the Merle he had spoken with on the phone the other night virtually gone. He remembered one time when he and Merle were pretty young, Momma had taken them to church. They didn't go often but the times they did stuck out in his memory. He remembered wanting to eat the crackers and juice they passed around in a gold tray. Daryl remembered thinking that he had not eaten breakfast and though the crackers were small, he'd eaten less before. He had asked Momma if he could have some too and Momma had shushed him, telling him that it wasn't meant to fill their bellies. He hadn't understood that at the time. Hadn't understood a lot of things, but he did now.

Beth was on his right and holding his hand again. It had become their thing lately. She had stayed at his house last night until very late. Daryl still couldn't get her voice out of his head. How she had sang in the vestry of the church like it was something she did every day and he remembered thinking that Father MacManus was wrong. Her voice was better than that of the angels. It was crystal clear and sultry and smoky and seeped into Daryl's bones like a warm fire on a cold night. She was getting ready to sing again and despite his deep calming breaths he was trying to take, his heart was thundering away inside his chest like it was attempting a break-out and his ribs were the prison bars.

"And now Daryl's friend has selected a song. God intended music to be a balm to our souls. And as we say goodbye to Joseph Dixon, the words are meant to comfort us and the notes will carry a soul from this world to the next. Thomas Carlyle said "Music is well said to be the speech of angels. Beth?" Father MacManus looked to Beth then, smiling softly and she did not miss the hidden meaning in his words. She let go of Daryl's hand and stepped in front of the small gathering.

"I haven't known Daryl or Merle for very long," Beth began, "but I've known Father MacManus a very long time. Funerals are not so much to honor the person who has passed but to comfort the ones they left behind. This song is one of comfort."

Beth closed her eyes as she began the song, concentrating on drawing her voice from her diaphragm, letting all she was feeling well up like a wave and finally letting the words ride it out and hope that Daryl and Merle could find comfort in the lyrics.

"_Spend all your time waiting_

_For that second chance_

_For a break that would make it okay_

_There's always some reason_

_To feel not good enough _

_And it's hard at the end of the day _

_I need some distraction_

_Oh beautiful release _

_Memories seep from my veins_

_Let me empty _

_And weightless and maybe _

_I'll find some peace tonight." _

Daryl watched her sing and knew that he had never heard a voice more beautiful. She had her eyes closed for the first stanza but she opened her eyes as she hit the second and let her gaze take in the whole crowd, including them in the song, the words like a blanket she draped over them all as they left her lips. Her eyes finally came to rest on his and she seemed to see right through him. She had done it the night before as well and her voice had played back in his mind the whole night as he tried to sleep. Tried to forget the man they'd be burying the next day was his father. Tried to forget all the times his father had never been there for him. Tried to forget everything. As she headed into the chorus, she sent him a gaze that he knew was meant just for him.

"_In the arms of the angel_

_Fly away from here _

_From this dark cold hotel room _

_And the endlessness that you fear_

_You are pulled from the wreckage_

_Of your silent reverie_

_You're in the arms of the angel_

_May you find some comfort here. _

_So tired of the straight line, _

_And everywhere you turn_

_There's vultures and thieves at your back_

_And the storm keeps on twisting_

_You keep building the lies_

_That you make up for all that you lack_

_It don't make no difference_

_Escaping one last time_

_It's easier to believe in this sweet madness, oh_

_This glorious sadness that brings me to my knees."_

She sang the chorus again and the song came to an end and Beth never broke her gaze with Daryl's as she headed back over to him. He looked at her in wonder and she felt in that moment that he saw her, really saw her, and she knew that she would never be the same again. She didn't know how singing a song for his father's funeral had just become a song just for them, but it had.

As they listened to the priest's final gentle worlds sending Joseph Dixon from this world to the next, Beth felt Daryl reach for her hand and laced his fingers with hers. Beth knew then she was never going to be the same again. She knew, without a doubt, that her decision had just been made. She could no sooner walk away from all this now than she could fly. She was going to see Seth tonight and break the news to him as gently as possible. Of course she knew she'd also have to tell Daryl who, no what, she really was but she was no longer frightened at the prospect. She didn't know what falling from Heaven was going to feel like but there was no way it could possibly feel any scarier, and yet at the same time thrilling, than falling for Daryl Dixon.

"Slow Burn" by Robin Greenstein copyright 1997 Tuddy & Pokey Music, BMI

"Angel" by Sarah McLachlan, copyright Music Sales Corporation, Sony/ATV songs, LLC

**So, what did you think? I am dying to know what everyone thinks of this chapter of the story so please, please leave me love on your way out. I am trying so hard to get this one right and I hope that I did it justice. Thank you to moonshine-and-thangs for the encouragement. Hope that this chapter met with your expectations. Haha! And as always a heart felt thank you to rckyfrk. You know you're my true muse, kicking me in the ass when I need it and telling me to give it a rest when it's clear that's what I need. :) As always, the real credit goes to Bethyl, all of our inspiration. I love this pairing so much and I cannot freaking wait for October so we can all prove Aisha Tyler wrong! That episode of The Talking Dead was just awful, don't we all agree? I make no apologies for any updates in And the Walls Came Tumbling Down. They might get a little "lemony" and I don't think any of you are going to complain about that. Hahaha So, ya'll do your thang and review, review, review and please recommend to your friends if you so desire. Until next time, loves! Xoxoxoxoxo **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Daryl thought it an odd contradiction that the sun was shining so brightly on the day that there felt like there was such darkness surrounding them all. To him, it felt palpable in the air, and it was now choking him. He felt like he couldn't breathe and he was finding that he was having to fight off the urge to just run, take off and not look back. He focused and mentally shook himself. Get it together, Dixon, it's just a little while longer and the son of a bitch will be in the ground. Then, you'll know he can't ever hurt you again, he thought.

Beth glanced at Daryl for a moment as the priest walked over to the casket from where he had been speaking at the small podium and reached for the dirt. This was one of the most bittersweet parts of the services for her. Watching the dirt being symbolically sprinkled on the casket, signifying the transition from earth to grave to sky, was just such a beautiful thing but also so final. So very final. This was Beth's own interpretation, molded by years of a multitude of experiences. She knew the real reason of course. It was intended to be a final act of charity. It was said that since the dead cannot repay the gesture, that it is a true act of charity. And that held beauty as well, but if she had learned nothing else from being a Guardian, it was that no one explanation or interpretation was entirely and solely correct. It was just the way of life.

She couldn't help but be concerned with Daryl. He had seemed better last night when she left his house but this afternoon, his old tough façade was pulled firmly back into place. His spine had been ramrod straight through the entire funeral service. As they rode to the church, he hadn't said anything either. Beth figured he was feeling extra introspective today and she could see why. She caught him out of the corner of her eye pulling at his tie at his neck. She had offered to tie it for him, but he had stubbornly refused. She would have smiled at the thought except for the fact that she could hear his breathing coming in almost pants. She looked over to him then and it was clear he was really struggling with something.

Daryl watched as Father MacManus reached down, grabbing a fistful of dirt from a mysterious container behind him and sprinkling it over his father's casket. The Priest was now uttering words that were meant to comfort but since they had left St. Matthews Cathedral, all he could think was that it sounded like the priest was trying to convince _himself_ that his father had been a good person and deserved this grand send-off they were giving him.

Truth was, he was guessing that his old man was probably looking on somewhere wondering why in the hell they were wasting so much money on something as frivolous, at least in his mind, as a funeral. Daryl had really thought that it would somehow bring him closure to bury his father today. Instead, he had more questions than ever. He realized his mind had wandered again and the priest was reciting liturgies and the small gathering, which had shrunk considerably since leaving the church, was repeating his words back to him.

"Eternal rest, grant unto him, O Lord", Father MacManus recited, his eyes looking out over his small flock before returning in the direction of the deceased.

"And let perpetual light shine upon him", Daryl read from the worship guide they had printed up for the occasion.

"May he rest in peace." Father said.

"Amen", everyone answered. Everyone except for Daryl.

Daryl could feel his chest constricting again and he was fighting down a wave of relentless heart-pounding fear. He was having a memory of another time. It was brief, but powerful. He was at his grandfather's funeral, the old man's dad, who was worse than he was, if it could be believed. At the moment that the priest had said "May he rest in peace," Daryl's father had snickered and said, "not fucking likely" and Daryl had chuckled. He had not been more than 9 at the time, but his mother had recently passed as well and sometimes to get on his dad's good side, he would laugh at whatever he said in hopes of staying on his good side. Sometimes it worked for a few days; other times he got beat anyway. This was one of the latter times. His father had unleashed a fury on him when they walked back into the house after the funeral chanting all the while that his old man would never rest in peace and he wasn't gonna let Daryl rest either. Daryl hadn't been able to get out of bed the next day and Merle had brought him a cheese sandwich in secret. If it had been up to Joe, he would have had Daryl starve. Hell, thought Daryl, if it had been up to Joe, Daryl would never have probably been born.

The priest was saying his last piece, "May his/her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace." Something deep inside him just snapped then and he could not seem to take another breath. He knew with a certainty that if he didn't get away from where he stood right now, he was going to walk over to that mother-fucking casket where his father lay and kick the shit out of it, maybe even burn it to the ground like he had that pile of shit from the house the night before. He had thought at the time that maybe he could finally put it all behind him. He was wrong.

He took off then, his long legs and determination driving him forward and he wasn't sure he even cared where he ended up, so long as he didn't have to look at Father's face anymore. He was vaguely aware that Beth was following him and he thought for a moment she might not be able to keep up with him but he could hear her treading behind him and he just kept going until there was a football field between where he stood and his father lay, waiting for the other side.

How could there be a mercy for his father? Mercy for someone who beat their wife? Mercy for someone who beat their children? Who made their lives a living hell? Daryl thought mirthfully that hell might be a better environment than the one he grew up in. That was a sad fucking thing, he thought. His chest was heaving now and he bent over from the sudden exertion. He stood back up and sucked in a lungful of air, trying to quell the ache in his side and he knew he needed to quit smoking even as he reached for his pack inside of his suit jacket.

Beth followed after Daryl trying not to make it too obvious that she was really doing not much else but gliding along on top of the ground. She tried not to use any of her obvious blessings but right now it was completely necessary. Daryl was a tall guy and well, she was _not_ tall.

She mentally called on every single moment of the graveside service and she knew exactly what had him so upset and it pained her greatly to realize that he was so torn up by words that had only before brought her comfort and peace.

Daryl had reached the bottom of the hill and rounded the giant oak tree that seemed to be a central feature in this part of the cemetery. He tried to tamp out a cigarette from the pack and was frustrated to realize that his hands were shaking too much. He replaced the pack back in his jacket right as Beth caught up to him, stopping a few feet short of where he stood against the tree. There were not many graves out this way and it was very isolated, which was a good thing with the mood he was in.

Beth watched him and watched as his shoulders heaved as he tried to catch his breath and she felt like she needed to catch her own. She had an odd tight feeling around her chest and it felt like she was being squeezed from the inside out. It was an odd sensation and felt like a bone-deep ache right over the place where her heart resided. She wondered briefly if this what mortals spoke of when they used the word "heartbroken". If that was the case, she could certainly understood why. Watching Daryl in so much pain, she could think of no better description than that of her heart shattering and breaking into a million pieces.

He began pacing again back and forth, having so much to say and nothing to say and wanting to punch the hell out of something. He turned around, knowing she was there, but surprised to find that she was just watching him. Where before she had usually looked at him passively, she looked at him now with a pained expression and he was surprised to realize that she was fighting off tears of her own, the moisture evident in her gaze.

"Tell me somethin'," his voice was gruff and he dropped his head, not wanting to meet her gaze as he asked her the question. She seemed like she might know a bit more about this thing than he did.

"Anything," Beth replied, trying to smile but for the first time in her existence she didn't feel like it. She was unmistakably feeling something and she was so puzzled by it that she was glad for a distraction.

"How can a God who claims to love us, give me a shithead for a father and then expect me to be thankful he is showing him mercy and that he should rest in….." Daryl paused, trying to reign it in, but failing miserably. "Peace?!" the last word was shouted and Beth, to her credit, didn't even flinch.

Beth watched helplessly as he looked up to the sky and let out a guttural moan and collapsed against the tree, leaning his head against it as his shoulders shook. She moved towards him, not knowing what to do but feeling deep within her that she needed to be as close to him as possible. But for the first time in her existence, she had no idea how to provide adequate comfort for what this moment called for. Any words getting ready to roll of her tongue seemed sadly insufficient so she stayed quiet and as she came right up behind him, just standing there and watching him as he stared off into the distance.

"Ya know, all the times he beat me, I'd pray. I was just a little kid, but I'd pray. I don't remember anythin' much I said, but I do remember one time wishing he would die. And now he is. And I'm glad. I think. I ain't sad he's dead. But I'm sad about something and I don't know why. This should be the happiest day of my life. He's finally out of my life. Out of all our lives. But peace and mercy? For that no good son of a bitch? "'S too good for him." Daryl let the rest trail off as his voice broke on his last word.

Beth watched as he dropped his head and his shoulders shook violent and she could hear the sob he let out as his chin hit his chest. She didn't think she had ever seen someone as low as he appeared right now. She had no words, nothing to say, nothing to offer, but her touch, that she could do. She moved forward, up behind him, his back arched away from her, his posture broken just like it seemed her heart was. She closed her eyes as she came up behind him and as if she had done it her whole life, wrapped her arms around his middle, pulling herself against him and his back against her chest, her fingers splayed over his ribs, willing herself to absorb some of his pain. Even an ounce of the weight his shoulders were burdened with would likely lighten his load. After a while, she felt his shaking stop and she sneaked a glance over his shoulder. Where before his face was cast down and looking into an uncertain abyss, he was now looking up as the light filtered through the trees and his face was awash with streaming sunlight, the rays reflecting off the tears as they traced their way down his cheeks.

She didn't know how long they stood there. Time had always been a relative thing to her anyway, but it seemed an eternity, and at the same time just an instant before he finally pulled away, pulling his arm over his face as he turned around to face her.

Daryl had sunk his head and cried for the third time in 48 hours and was fiercely glad that Merle was still up at the grave-site. It would suit him just fine if he didn't have to see Merle any more today. He loved his brother but more than an hour or two at a time and he started to get a headache with Merle's constant mouthing off.

Where before could not find words, Beth finally was able to find her voice and she spoke, surprised that it was only a whisper instead of the sure, steady voice she usually had. "I don't think I have the answer you're looking for," She was drawing on all the times she had stood in a graveyard and comforted someone, but none of the words seemed to fit, so she searched her mind for her own words. "But sometimes the heart has its reasons for feeling like it does. We just have to go with it and hope we understand later. Sometimes all we can do is find the strength within to let go enough to just….be." Beth looked to him then and he had finally stopped breathing so heavily and he looked up at her his eyes a watery blue that struck her with such force that she had to fight away a gasp. The raw emotion she saw there just absolutely seemed to wreck her soul. She felt a stinging sensation and she blinked compulsively for a moment, trying to clear the feeling.

She felt moisture on her face and reached up curiously and was surprised when she drew her hand back and saw wetness. She was crying? Her heart beat fast for a moment and she drew in a somewhat shaky breath. It wasn't that angels couldn't cry; of course they could. They usually didn't have the capacity to cry in front of a mortal, unless….She wasn't going to finish that thought right now. She concentrated instead on the task at hand.

"Things like this….you have to put it away," her voice was starting to come back now but she hated how gravelly it sounded.

"What if you can't?," Daryl said, his tone clearly one of doubt.

"You have to." Beth answered, convinced that he could. He had already made such strides. "Or else it kills you," Beth smiled softly then, "here", she brought her hand up to her heart and let her fingers flutter against her chest, meeting his eyes.

Daryl looked at Beth then and knew he had never in his life known anyone like her. Never had someone to tell him the things she had. Never had someone to talk to like her before. Sure as hell had never cried in front of anyone before like he did her.

Here she was standing here, trying to comfort him and he knew he wasn't mistaken in seeing tears on her own face. That someone could care that much for him, would follow him all the way out here, put his needs first, wanted to comfort him, was a foreign idea. He had no idea how he was supposed to feel about it, but right now he felt pretty good.

"You're so goddamned beautiful, Beth." He reached out and smoothed a stray piece of hair, tucking it behind her ear and he found that he wanted to wind his hands into her hair and bring her closer. He found he was staring at her lips again and damn the impropriety of it, he did just that, lacing his fingers in her long blonde tresses, moving towards her as he pulled her head gently towards him, his lips finding hers. He heard her sigh against his lips and he tentatively teased the seam of her lips with his tongue, very lightly, probing until she opened her mouth under his and he slid his tongue into her mouth and angled his head, deepening the kiss as his other hand found her waist and her blouse had ridden up a bit, exposing the soft skin there. He marveled at the smoothness, her warmth, and fought the urge to run his hands up over her back as he moaned against her mouth.

Beth had smiled at his compliment and her face flushed as she saw where his eyes came to rest, right on her lips. She knew it with a confidence that he was getting ready to kiss her and she closed her eyes in anticipation and felt the moment his lips met hers, felt his tongue sliding along between her lips and it was exhilarating as his tongue became more insistent she instinctively opened her mouth under his, feeling his tongue enter hers, teasing, taunting. She was lost then in a sea of sensation, his lips warm against hers and the icy feeling shooting through her veins, the fluttering in her stomach and her heart beating so fast that she was sure that all the angels from here on earth, up to Heaven, could hear it.

They broke apart at the same time, both of them needing to catch their breath. Daryl leaned his forehead against hers and Beth fought to regain control of her erratic heartbeat.

When she thought she could look at him and her legs would not give way beneath her, she pulled away and met his gaze. His eyes, so icy blue moments ago, were now darker, deeper, his pupils larger and just ringed by that intense blue. "That was…..wow." Beth remarked.

Daryl chuckled at her choice of words. "Yeah, wow," He repeated as he stepped back, feeling a little lost now that he had placed any distance between them.

"You ready to go back up and finish this?" Beth looked up at him, searching his face for any signs of remaining anger. His face was relaxed and completely passive.

He sighed then. "Long as you're with me, I can." Daryl looked to her, feeling suddenly unsure of what he was asking her. It was just his dad's funeral but it suddenly felt like so much more.

"I'm here as long as you need me." Beth replied as she laced her fingers with his and they headed back up the hill. And it was true, she would never leave his side as long as she knew he needed her and wanted her there. She was not entirely sure what had just happened but she had a very strong feeling that she needed to talk to Seth. While she had been anxious about the conversation before, she felt a little peaceful. She did not know what it would entail but she knew that Seth would make the transition as smooth as possible.

Daryl walked through the cemetery back up to his father's grave site, Beth's small delicate fingers linked with his and he was trying to be careful not to squeeze too hard but he never wanted to let her go. Didn't really think he could, not now anyway. Now that he had a taste of this little piece of wonderful, he wasn't sure how he had lived without her before. He knew next to nothing about her but starting tonight that was going to change. It seemed she knew his whole life story and all he knew was her name. He had a million questions that needed answered but for right now, he was content to share this with her. He was ready to say good-bye to his father. He guessed she was right. He couldn't make his heart feel any certain way he wanted, just had to let it play out. Right now, he needed to finish burying his old man. He hoped someday soon he'd be able to bury the past along with him. With this beautiful girl by his side, for the first time, he felt like he could do just that. He could hope.

**Okay, so what do you think? I have so many ideas for this story that I wish I didn't have anything else to do so I could just churn out chapters for you guys. I want to send a shout out to everyone who has favorite this story, followed it, recommended it, reviewed it, talked about it and of course, for reading it! I feel like I have had an overwhelming response since this is such a young story. You guys are amazing, so I thank you. And I want to thank my guest reviewers too! Wish I could reply to you guys individually, which all my regular readers know I get around to eventually. It may take a bit but I will get there eventually! I promise. I'd love to hear from you all and see if you have any predictions about what Seth is going to say to her. What the transition will be like. I can't wait for you guys to see how this story has played out in my head and I just hope that you like it! :) Okay, so go do your stuff and thangs: read, review, recommend, all that jazz. Until next time, xoxoxoxoxo**

**PS - A special shout out to rckyfrk for her expertise and help with the funeral. I tried my hardest and hope I didn't totally mess it up! Thanks again girl! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok, hope I was able to pull it off; I used the prompt of the Lauren Aquilina song "Wonder" and used the chapter I just wrote out for Heavenly Encounter. The song didn't particularly speak to me except in this one situation. This is an AU that I have been working on and posting and you don't have to have read the rest of it to understand. Hope you like it! Note this does not follow the original A Destiny Chosen prompt collection I have been writing (which is a streamline Daryl and Beth story post Terminus). This is an AU, bad boy Daryl and Beth as his guardian angel, except she chooses to be mortal so she can be with him. This chapter is about the transition from immortal to mortal. Enjoy! **

HEAVENLY ENCOUNTER

Chapter 6

"_My mind is blind to everything but you_

_And I wonder if you wonder about me, too._

_If you were to stop talking,_

_I don't know what I'd do_

_The future's fall is daunting_

_Walking into it with you"._

Daryl dropped Beth off at the bus depot at 6:00 p.m. with an obvious sense of déjà vu. He knew he had dropped her off there that first night they met. Was that really only a couple nights ago? It seemed like a lifetime. Everything with Beth seemed like that. He was drained of all emotion and he could hardly wait to get back to his house so he could change out of the suit and tie he had donned for his father's funeral. Merle had invited him to go and "cut loose" but Daryl had begged off. Merle was always up for tying one on and he suspected that Merle might get up to more than his usual debauchery tonight, emotions riding so high and all. If he knew Merle, and he did, he would be milking their father's to death with the ladies for all it was worth.

Daryl sighed, thinking of Beth and he could feel the corners of his mouth turn up inexplicably at the image playing back in his head. She had looked so beautiful when he had dropped her off. He could still feel the tingle of his lips where he had kissed her. He could have gone on kissing Beth for the rest of his natural life but he sensed that she might be a little inexperienced, which confused him. Her kisses were hesitant and she had blushed like mad when he had kissed her in that cemetery. She had looked sexy as hell with her cheeks lit up with that delicate blush and he had found that he wanted to explore her hesitancy a little further. Find out just what it was that made her tick. What would turn those kisses urgent instead of hesitant? They were sweet to be sure and he knew he had never tasted anything as sweet as her, her lips tasting something akin to a honeysuckle vine on a hot summer day.

His current plan was to go home and change into his requisite jeans and black tee and kick back with a beer. He just wanted to tune out for a couple of hours. Beth had said she would come by after she finishing up some business with her boss. He realized that he had no idea what she even did for a living. In fact, he realized he didn't know much about her at all. That was going to change, starting tonight. He knew they had planned on a quiet night and he could think of nothing he'd like to do better than sit and sip beer and get to know this gorgeous woman who had drifted into his life.

* * *

Beth stepped into the depot with confusion. It was completely empty of all the Guardians that were normally there. There were only a few people milling about due to the lateness of the hour. Beth's eyes darted about nervously and she was wondering if she had the time wrong or if she had somehow missed everyone already. They usually met here at sundown and today was not any exception, at least not that she could remember. She caught a movement to her left and relief washed over her as she realized it was Seth. She was not late after all, she supposed.

"Where is everyone else, Seth? I'm not late am I?" Beth smiled in Seth's direction and he smiled back, his smile not quite reaching his eyes completely. "What's wrong?" She demanded, her voice a whisper but insistent.

"We need to talk, Beth," Beth took a deep breath. Those four words were never a good thing, even to Guardians.

Seth led her over to a bench furthest from any activity, which was not much this time of night anyway. She watched as Seth fought to find the right words and Beth's heart began to beat a little bit harder inside her chest like it had so often here lately. She swore she had never had such strange arrhythmias since she had met Daryl. Her heart was beating like a caged animal, threatening to break out like her ribs were the only thing holding it in.

"Just tell me," Beth said. She had never been one for beating around the bush. There just wasn't room for hesitation and mincing words in their realm.

"Beth, you know we talked about you having to make a choice about your mortality should you decide to go that route." Seth began and Beth nodded mutely, taking in his silent cues; his inability to look directly at her, his hands clasping and unclasping in his lap. He was holding a large thick manila envelope and she had never seen him hold something intangible to the heavenly realm before and she was insidiously curious about what it contained. She tried to concentrate on what Seth was saying.

"Thing is, once a Guardian is thrust into a situation and they start down the path to mortality, sometimes they are powerless to stop it. Even if they want to, they…..can't." Seth looked at her pointedly and she blinked back at him, not quite understanding. "Usually they can't because they're not meant to stop it. It's supposed to happen. Like in your case."

Beth nodded trying to absorb what she was saying. Her first thought at becoming mortal was Daryl and she wondered what that said about it. What it said about her and the life she had led so far.

"Did you wonder why it was empty in here? Why there were no other Guardians? Only me?" Beth nodded at him slowly, the full impact of it hitting her and she began to cry then. What had she done?

"There in the cemetery, it happened. A lot of people think, even Guardians do, that when the transition occurs, there is a sudden fall. It doesn't happen that way for our kind. It's gradual. A slow transition so as not to shock the soul into a realm it doesn't belong" Seth looked at her and handed her a Kleenex. "You've been crying more lately?" Seth asked her gently.

Beth nodded mutely, the tears coursing hot and fast down her cheeks. "Yes, it's awful," she finally was able to get out.

"It's all part of the process. When the soul transitions from immortal to mortal, all the human emotions come with it. Sometimes it can be pretty intense. That's what happened today. Due to the nature of Daryl's circumstances, his emotions were extremely intense and that made yours mirror his. It was inevitable I'm afraid," Seth finished.

Beth looked up at him. "Inevitable? As in I didn't have a choice?" Beth asked, not quite believing what she was hearing. She had been a Guardian for millennia now. She knew nothing else.

"Yes, my charge. I'm afraid that what I had originally feared with you taking this assignment came to pass. But fear not, it was almost as if this fate chose you instead of the other way around," Seth smiled at her brightly then. "I will tell you though. It's been a beautiful thing to watch," Seth glanced about and Beth looked up from her tears, her mouth forming an 'o' as every Guardian in their district made an appearance, lining up like a receiving line in a wedding. They were all looking to Beth and they were all smiling in her direction and Beth had never seen them in this dimension before, where she was on the other side and it felt odd. Freeing but foreign all at the same time.

Beth's breath caught in her chest and the tears started up again and instead of sobbing, she laughed. She reached up in confusion. "I'm crying, but I'm laughing too. This is so weird," Beth remarked.

"Happy tears, mortals call them. They came to say goodbye. After tonight, right here and now, you won't be able to see us anymore. You'll no longer be a Guardian. You will be mortal." Seth held his arm out, gesturing to the other Guardians smiling in her direction.

Beth smiled back, waving as they all slowly faded away, their essence leaving with them. The absence was palpable to Beth. "I know I should be happy, but I'm kind of sad." Beth looked to Seth curiously.

"It will get better. But right now, we need to take care of logistics," Seth handed her the envelope then and Beth frowned.

"What is in here?" Beth asked as she weighed the envelope in her hand.

"Everything you need to start a new life. Identification papers, birth certificate, driver's license, social security card, resumes. Not right now, but you'll eventually be working as a social worker. You can pick your own specialty there but you don't need to worry about that yet. First off, I need to fill you in on your liaison, Hershel Greene." Seth reached over and handed her a small card with the name Hershel Greene, an address and a phone number.

"Who's Hershel Greene?" Beth asked him, fingering the card and running her fingers over the raised print at the word 'Greene'.

"Hershel will be your contact here on Earth. A foster father of sorts, if you will." Beth looked at him, suddenly more nervous. "The whole Greene family is there to welcome you. They are familiar with your story. This system was set up long ago to ease the transition from immortal to mortal. The world can be a harsh place. It helps to have a family who can nurture you and guide you." Seth explained.

"But I'm a Guardian….was a Guardian. Shouldn't I already know what I am supposed to do?" Beth asked, her expression a mirror of confusion. "I've never had a family before. Just all of you," Beth began and looked about where the Guardians had been standing just moments ago.

"This family will be your lifeline. Beth, just because you were a Guardian, does not mean you do not have things to learn. Important things. You need to meet the Greenes tonight. Hershel knows you are coming." Seth said matter of fact. "As soon as you leave here, you need to go meet with Hershel. And take Daryl. You're going to need to tell him. Hershel can help with that." He finished.

Beth was getting increasingly frustrated. Suddenly, everything in her life was a big mystery and she was not privy to the ending. She was used to being in the know, knowing with relative certainty what was going to happen next. Now, she just felt lost. And she wasn't sure about this Hershel person.

"This comes at a good time. Hershel has a daughter that is close to your age." Seth grinned at her then.

"My age?," she laughed then, unable to help herself. "So you're partnering me with a man who has a thousand year old daughter?"

Seth chuckled then. "Beth, you're going to be just fine. You have a good head on your shoulders and you have the wisdom of the ancients. While your clarity will be a little skewed and you won't have immortal blessings any longer, you will always have your keen intuition and sense of humor to get you through this life the fates have chosen for you." Seth was so sure of himself.

"You still didn't answer my question, Seth," she teased. She was going to miss their easy banter. "How old am I?" She held up the envelope. She would look through it eventually but right now she just wanted to get to Daryl.

"You're Beth Greene, twenty one years old," Seth said with a wink.

Beth rolled her eyes at him and peered down into the envelope then. "Is there an instruction manual in here? How to Be a Human for Dummies?" Beth looked up at Seth and he was grinning at her. She really was going to miss him.

"Afraid not, but you'll be fine. With Hershel's help, you'll get the hang of it. I suspect Daryl will be helping a lot with that too," Seth winked at her and Beth felt her cheeks warm. She thought of that kiss she and Daryl had shared in the cemetery and she squirmed a bit realizing that the others had seen it all. It was humbling, especially in light of the intensity of the feelings she had at the time. She hoped that they had not been able to read her mind.

Seth stood up then, signifying the end of their meeting and Beth sighed and stood up with him. "So I guess this is good-bye? I hate good-byes." Beth said with feeling. She truly did. Never wanted to say goodbye to any of her assignments but it eventually came down to it. Always. She had a surge of hope then realizing that her assignment with Daryl had become anything but that. She didn't know what she could call this thing with Daryl but however it had started, it was going to be headed in a much different direction now, if this afternoon had been any indication. The pink crept in her cheeks again thinking of Daryl kissing her again.

"Not good-bye, Beth, just I'll see you later." Seth said gently. Beth knew differently but it was easier to go along with his version so she just smiled back.

"See you later, Seth." Beth smiled and reached out and hugged him fiercely.

"Take care of yourself Beth," Seth said and he stepped out of the embrace and began to walk away. Beth watched him walk across the depot, his footsteps echoing off the walls and then he faded away. She listened, marveling that she could still hear his footsteps even though he had vanished. Beth turned to leave the depot, hailing a cab that would take her to Daryl's. She had gone into the depot an angel and she was leaving a human. As she rode to Daryl's watching the scenery pass by, she noticed she was looking at everything through new eyes. Nothing was the same now. Nothing would be the same again.

* * *

Daryl woke with a start at the knocking at his door. He rubbed his hand down over his face, getting up slowly, moving the cans of beers out of the way. He must have passed out. He had only had three beers but he guessed it was the day that had whipped him to shit and sucked the life out of him. He moved to open the door, not expecting to find the sweetest sight to greet him.

"Thought you were gonna call me to pick you up?" Daryl asked, looking down at his wrist and then back up at her. "You're early." He stated and moved to the side, watching her step through the doorway and it looked like she had been crying. He closed the door with a click and before she reached the sofa, he gently took her shoulder and spun her around to face him. "What's wrong angel?" He asked, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"Don't call me that, okay?" Beth was so frustrated by the amount of tears that kept leaking from the corners of her eyes. She was powerless to stop them.

Daryl looked at her confused and she had no earthly idea how to tell him. "Don't call you Angel?" His expression was puzzled but curious. She had always been so happy, always having a smile for him. He hoped he hadn't managed to ruin her in this very short time he had known her. He seemed to have that effect on people, he thought.

"Yeah, I'm not an angel." She said resolutely.

"Beth, you're about the closest thing to an angel I have ever seen. You're goddamned beautiful." He said then and did not hold back this time when he had the urge to touch her. He cupped her face with both hands and turned her face up to his, forcing her to look at him. "I don't know what happened to make ya this sad, but I want you to tell me everythin'. Right after I kiss ya."

Daryl smirked at her then and pulled her face gently to his, their lips touching and meeting and Beth's heart began to beat erratically then. She wondered vaguely if a Guardian had ever had a heart attack soon after the transition. Like say, when a devastatingly handsome man was kissing their socks off? He finally broke the kiss and led her to the sofa and gently coaxed her into sitting.

"Are _you_ okay?" Beth asked him, needing to make sure he was alright.

Daryl shook his head. "This is about you. But I'm fine," It touched him that she cared about how he was when it was clear that she was feeling pretty down. He wondered if she had lost her job since it had been her boss she'd been meeting with.

"Did you get fired?" He asked her gently, pulling her closer to him and putting his arm around her. He didn't know the right words sometimes but this, with her, he knew how to do. It came natural, just like breathing.

Beth laughed beside him. "Yeah, I guess in a way, you could say I did." Beth looked at him again, fingering the envelope in her hands. She had not looked through all the contents yet. She needed someone to hold her hand for that part.

"Will you go somewhere with me?" Beth looked at Daryl then, looking deep into his crystal blue eyes and she would have to be an idiot to miss the desire displayed there.

"Anywhere. What did you have in mind?" Daryl asked her.

"I need to go see someone," Beth looked up at him shyly. She was dreading telling him, dreading his reaction. She just wanted to skip all that and go straight to all the things she was feeling for Daryl, the things that made her want to kiss him more.

"Now? It's almost 9:00 Beth?" Daryl didn't care but living in the south, he had developed more than a modicum of common sense when it came to calling on folks. Southern folks had funny rules about that kind of stuff.

"Yeah, they know I'm coming. You might know them. Hershel Greene, Maggie Greene?" Beth tested the names on her lips.

"Hershel Greene?!" Daryl sat up suddenly, eyeing her thoughtfully. "Yeah I know Hershel. Everyone down in Senoia does. He saved my dog when I was just a little tyke. He's a veterinarian. Went to some hot shot school but came back here to practice, "Daryl smiled at Beth and stood up. "Let's go then."

Beth wished she could share his enthusiasm. She thought of something then, "Daryl will you kiss me again?" She breathed, her face flushed with her sudden request. The words were out of her mouth before she had a chance to decide if she should say them or not.

Daryl didn't know what to say to that so he just acted, sitting back down beside her and taking his time with his answer, turning to face her. His fingers found her hair and wound themselves into it as he brought his lips to hers slowly, meeting them softly, tentatively and he could kiss Beth like this all night. He could. But then she started kissing him back and the gentle kiss he began turned into something deeper, hungrier as Beth reached between them and grabbed his shirt where the buttons were undone the first two and slipped her hand slightly into the folds of the shirt, weaving her fingers through the coarse hairs on his chest.

He groaned against her lips then as her kisses became urgent and she teased his lips with her tongue and he opened his mouth willingly and accepted her tongue into his mouth. He heard her sigh and he moved his other hand to her waist, the shirt having ridden up just like it had in the cemetery. This time, Daryl let his fingers drift up higher and slip under her shirt, sliding his fingertips just lightly over the surface, eliciting a sigh from Beth's lips against his mouth. He licked along her lower lip and put one hand on her hip tentatively, his fingers tracing over the slight dip at her waist. He was oddly infatuated with this area of her body, finding that he wanted to further explore with his tongue but she had barely warmed up to kissing him. He knew it was probably too soon for anything other than what they were doing now. Still his fingers moved of their own volition as his mouth continued its onslaught to her lips, moving higher and higher, skimming up over her ribs until meeting with the barrier of her bra, the wire just at the end of his fingertips. He traced his fingers back and forth, smiling against her mouth as he heard her moan and gasp at the same time. He swallowed all her desire into his own, kissing her like he had never kissed anyone before.

Beth's breath caught in her throat as his fingers slid over her skin, her shirt having ridden up like it tended to. He traced his fingers lightly and she shuddered and sighed. His lips were rough on hers and his tongue flicked in to toy with hers every so often. Her senses were on overload and she felt positively dizzy. His fingers climbed higher still until they were teasing the skin just underneath the wire of her bra. She held her breath, uncertain if she was supposed to let him continue and as he traced back and forth instead of moving higher she moaned at the thought of him doing just that. Just keep moving his fingers higher and touch her. Though she was a Guardian, she knew the workings of a female/male relationship. What was different now was that she actually wanted him to do all those things. She wanted him to want her. Wanted him to kiss her. Wanted him to touch her, _there_, right above her bra and if the ache in her groin was any indication, she wanted her to touch him there too. She pressed herself to him a little more, needing something more. Needing something, but not able to put her finger on it.

Beth's breath caught in her chest as Daryl applied the slightest bit of pressure to her ribs, pressing her back into the sofa and she leaned back, looking up at him, her eyes meeting his. She didn't have any idea what she was doing but Daryl seemed to know what he was doing, so she let him lay her back on that sofa, barely able to contain her eagerness to see what happened next.

Daryl looked down at her and he took a deep breath, an inner sigh sending a calming effect over his entire body. He wanted her. He really wanted her and he tested the waters by moving his hand up just a bit higher, his fingers coming to rest over her breast. Several things happened simultaneously. Beth sighed and gasped and arched her hips up off the sofa and it was the hottest thing Daryl had ever seen, Beth under him, his movements clearly turning her on.

Beth snapped out of the enchanted spell she was under the moment she heard herself gasp loudly. She pushed up slightly and Daryl pulled away from her immediately. Beth felt bereft of his closeness and his touch. She did not know what she was supposed to be feeling. Her reactions astounded her, puzzled her and she didn't know what she was doing. That was apparent. How to Be Human for Dummies sure would come in handy at this point, she thought.

She and Daryl sat back up and straightened out their slightly disheveled clothing and Beth moved her hands up to hair, fearing that it looked the wreck that it normally did.

Beth looked at Daryl a little sheepishly, not entirely certain what one was supposed to say in this situation. Were they supposed to mention just how awkward it was or were they going to pretend it didn't happen.

"Sorry," Daryl mumbled, smoothing his hand over his face and getting up, reaching a hand to pull Beth to her feet beside him.

Beth was guessing that it was latter of the two and it was fine with her. Talking about her desire for Daryl was not something she was ready to talk about, especially not with Daryl himself.

"You ready to go?" Daryl was looking everywhere but at her but she figured she felt sort of the same way.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Beth said softly, following Daryl out the door. She was glad they were taking the bike again. It would give her a chance to think about everything. Daryl was oddly silent and she hoped he wasn't going to be making a habit of it. She needed to talk about things, maybe not right now, but she did not want him shutting her out as she knew he sometimes did.

The whole experience was daunting enough, the transition from angel to mortal without Daryl walling himself in. She was starting the rest of her life and she wanted him beside her for the journey. With Daryl by her side, she knew they could do this. He could be the man he was supposed to be and maybe she could be his destiny.

**Okay, guys, hope this came close to your expectations. It's been a crazy week with all the Bethyl activity on my dash and I am shocked I have been able to write any prompts as distracted I have been. Especially with the Bethyl ghost party sleepover chat twice this week, which was awesome! If you are a Bethyler, you should come find akiraflame or coolstoryshawty on tumblr for details on the next one. It's great! **

**Thank you to infinity and beyond for favoriting, reviewing, following and reccing this fic. You guys are amazing and I am simply astounded at your kind words. Thank you so much for everything. I just love this fandom so much and all of you. Until next time, xoxoxoxoxo **


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Beth rode in silence as they pulled off the highway, the night warm and the Georgia air thick with humidity as they rode the bike up the long gravel drive leading up to the Greene's farm. It was dark and Beth could only make out the house because it was lit up in a few windows and leading the way like a candle in the darkness. The other buildings that surrounded the property were just shadows against the landscape. As Daryl shut the bike off, the air was still and silent except for the call of the frogs and chirping crickets. As Beth's heart was thundering in her chest, the sounds surrounding them in the night air were calming to her.

They pulled up to the left of the house, right under a juniper tree and Daryl waited for her to climb from behind him. She let go of his waist, her hands lingering for a moment, reluctant to break the contact between them. Something had changed. She could sense it in his demeanor and the stiff way he had held himself on the bike as she had gripped his waist on the ride here. It was all winding country roads and Beth was reminded of the night she had intervened with his accident.

She sighed as she swung her leg over the bike and looked to the house expectantly and was surprised to see an older man standing there watching them, his silvery hair a reflection off the porch light behind him. His eyes met hers with a warm smile crinkling up the corners of his. There was a girl standing next to him and knew instantly that this must be Maggie Greene. Seth had spoken highly of her and she hoped they could be friends as he had suggested. Beth waited for Daryl to dismount the bike and she was surprised when he linked their fingers together and walked beside her as they ascended the steps to the porch. Beth smiled at the figures on the porch as they reached the top step.

He extended his left hand to Hershel, "Nice to see ya again Mr. Greene." Daryl said and the older man smiled and chuckled heartily.

"Daryl, it's been a long time son! And please call me Hershel. You're a grown man now, no since in using the formalities," Hershel said pragmatically and Daryl nodded.

"Yes, Mr…..err, Hershel, I don't know if I ever got to thank you properly for savin' my dog." Daryl didn't know why but he was always a little nervous around the man, like he expected Daryl to say something other than the words tripping over themselves exiting his mouth.

"It was my pleasure son," Hershel replied easily and directed his attention to Beth. "Hello there young lady, I'm Hershel Greene. Welcome to the Greene home". Hershel smiled softly at her and extended his hand. Beth had been nervous walking up on this porch and one welcoming smile and her nerves were instantly soothed.

Daryl watched the exchanged curiously. He had known the man for years and he had always been kind of afraid of him when he was young, his authoritative demeanor always a little off-putting to him. Still, he was a nice man. He just wondered what the hell they were doing here this late on a hot summer night and wondered why it was important enough that it couldn't wait til morning. Of course, it was probably for the best. After what had just happened at his house with the two of them, he supposed they could use a little supervision.

"I'm Maggie," the brunette said by way of introduction and she offered her hand to Beth and then Daryl, looking between the two of them curiously.

"I'm happy to meet you both," Beth said as Hershel ushered them inside to the front sitting room, Beth and Daryl sitting on the settee, Hershel in an overstuffed chair and Maggie perched on the arm, one arm draped across the back of the chair. Daryl looked around the room, trying to be casual about it. He had played in the woods behind the farm every summer when he came to visit his grandmother, his mother's mother. It was usually the best two weeks of his whole year. Nana, when she wasn't down with arthritis, made the best apple pie in the whole county. He had always been curious about this house, so large and warm-looking and had often wondered what it had looked like on the inside. He was embarrassed that what he had come from had been nothing even close to this.

"Now Beth, I trust you have filled Daryl in on what is going on here?" Hershel said and Beth's heart thudded against her rib cage at the mention of the predicament she was in. She wasn't sure she was ready for this. She felt like she had gotten so close to Daryl the last couple of days and she didn't want to do anything to jeopardize it. But it was definitely not something she could keep from him. She shook her head at the older man.

Transitioning to mortality was supposed to be difficult she supposed, but this? She wasn't sure Daryl was going to understand. Her eyes flitted to Daryl's and he was studying her with open curiosity.

"Mr. Greene," Beth began, searching for the right words and coming up empty.

"Please, call me Hershel dear." Hershel said, his voice soothing and he took in Daryl's expression. "I'm guessing you don't have any idea what is going on here do you son?" Hershel said to the younger man.

Daryl just shook his head and dropped Beth's hand. He was starting to get a little antsy where this was going. It was starting to feel like everyone in the room knew what was going on except for him. Maggie and Hershel both wore these stupid grins on their faces, looking at Beth like they just knew somethin', but now he was truly curious.

Beth looked to Daryl, her heart falling a bit when he dropped her hand. He had moved his thumb up to the corner of his mouth where he began chewing on the tip.

"Let me tell you a story," Hershel began and Beth nodded at him. "A long time ago, before there was even order on earth, before Adam and Eve, there was an order in the heavens. It consisted of more tiers of hierarchy of angels than we have time to discuss because it was an intricate order. The higher the number in the hierarchy, the more like human they were. The lowest order of angels were the Guardians. It was said that they were banished into the hereafter for their lust of the flesh but evidence, very recent evidence in fact, proves that theory to be unfounded and it has been decided that they were not punished for their likeness to humankind. In fact, favor was found with them and since they were so like human, the powers on the most high have given the Guardians the option to choose their destiny if the opportunity arises. It doesn't happen very often, but sometimes it is just meant to be," Hershel casually looked at Beth but no one missed the meaningful smile he gave her. "Sometimes, that Guardian will meet someone, usually someone they are here on earth to help and that's how it happens. And it's a slow transition to mortality. It isn't a fall like some might think, sudden and unexpected. Instead as the Guardian takes on more human qualities and human emotions, it's a subconscious natural transition into mortality."

Daryl looked at Hershel and then at Maggie and finally at Beth who met his eyes readily , albeit a little warily. He could tell that she was nervous and she expected some kind of response from him but he didn't know what he was supposed to say. He was starting to get the feeling that not only did they all know some secret he didn't, but that the secret involved him somehow. He honestly wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"If you are wondering why we are talking about this now it's because I am living proof that the theory exists and is alive and well today," Hershel let that sink in for a moment.

Daryl looked at Beth and then to Hershel and Maggie, taking in their expressions. Maggie looked hopeful and was grinning widely. Hershel was smiling softly at him, his easy way about him relaxing Daryl even if he didn't want it to. He was wound tight at the moment and he didn't think about anything but the way they were looking at him. He glanced back to Beth then who seemed to think somethin' was very interesting about her fingernails the way she was intently picking at.

"Okay, so you're telling me you're like a Guardian Angel that turned into a human?" Daryl scoffed and shifted his shoe against the hard wood floors of the sitting area.

"Yes, I am, I've been mortal for the last 30 years," Hershel said evenly and Daryl looked up at him abruptly, feeling the muscles in his neck jump at the sudden movement. "In the space of that time I have had been fortunate to have two great marriages and the most beautiful children to show for it." He smiled at Maggie affectionately then. Daryl remembered then that he had a son, Shane? Shawn, he thought that was it.

Daryl blinked at him curiously for a minute. "Wait, okay, I get that you think that you used to be an angel or whatever, but what does this have to with Beth?" He looked to her then and at the mention of her name, she looked up. _Angel_. "Don't call me that." He remembered her words. He looked to her then and she had a pained expression on her face.

"Wait, no-" his words broke and he could not force them past his lips. "Beth, tell me you're not buying into this load of shit." Daryl looked to Beth then and back to Hershel and he stood up and Maggie followed soon after.

"I'll leave you two to discuss this. It's clear Daryl needs some time to absorb all this. Beth when you need me, I'll be here." Hershel and Maggie filed out of the room leaving Beth and Daryl sitting in the front room of the sprawling farm house, silence invading the space between them.

There might as well have been a chasm as deep as the Grand Canyon between the two of them right now as uncomfortable the silence was.

After several long minutes Beth spoke, "Daryl, I wanted to tell you, but I wasn't sure if I was going to be staying….around." Words were so inadequate when it came to discussing human emotion and reason, she thought.

Daryl just huffed out a breath of air and looked at her sideways, not quite meeting her eyes. He wasn't sure what kind of Oprah Winfrey bullshit had just gone down but he wasn't going to be a party to it. He had his own brand of crazy and he didn't need this right now. He moved to get up to leave and Beth placed her hand gently on his wrist.

"Please, if you just hear me out, you will understand," Beth pressed his wrist gently hoping to coax him to sit down and Beth wished fervently that she had not transitioned so quickly, then she could at least show him. Then again, that might have freaked him out too much. Even more than this.

Daryl had really thought, for the first time in his life, that he had maybe found something redeeming in this world. Had thought he had found that something in Beth. And it had amazed him that she wanted to be anywhere near him, still did but he wasn't sure about anything she was telling him. She used to be an….angel? _"You believin' this fairy tale, bullshit baby brother?" _ Merle cackled from over his shoulder. Here Merle was probably off gettin' drunk and gettin' laid and he was here still hovering over him making cracks just like always.

Beth moved her hand over to his and as much as he loved the softness of her skin and how touching her in even that most innocent of ways made him feel, he moved his away. He didn't even know what he was thinking and he just needed to do something. He had just buried his father that afternoon and he hadn't even processed that just yet. He had known Hershel Greene since he was just a kid. The fact that Hershel bought into this and claimed to be one of these guardian angels he spoke of scared the shit out of him. Because if it were true, then what did that mean for him and Beth? He was startled at the way his mind put them together, like they were one entity; Daryl and Beth. All at once it was too much for him to handle and he stood up.

"I gotta go, Beth" He felt like he growled the words more than spoke them.

"Why," Beth's face was a picture of worry, concern and hurt as she got up to face him. A part of him wanted to take her into his arms and never let her go, never let those expressions cross her face again. Tell her it was going to be okay. But there was another part, the part that had been beaten into the ground on more than occasion by his no good father, that said to fuck all of it and just go home. Get a six pack of beer and watch the paint dry on the walls nearly every night. It was mindless. It was easy. It was what he had always done.

This thing with her had been too good to be true anyway. Because there was no way he deserved her. Especially if she was who she said she was. There was no way that he deserved someone as good, as pure, as her. Not him, not Daryl Dixon who had done just about everything ungodly his entire life. If she was an angel, then he was the devil incarnate and he was pretty sure, no he would bet money on it, that they would be like oil and water. He had the unbidden thought that this was her way of letting him down easy. It was a hell of a way to do it, but he'd dealt with worse in his life. He stared at his boots, uncertain of how the best way would be to exit this situation.

Beth stood there, watching helplessly as Daryl glanced to the door like it was an escape hatch. It broke her heart, literally, because it felt like it was completely torn in two pieces and fluttering about in the wind, unprotected and tattered. Just two hours ago they had been on his sofa and making out. And now they were standing in the Greene's living room and staring down an impossible set of circumstances. Beth sighed and willed the tears to stay trapped behind her eyelids. It seemed she had done enough of that already, however the tears once unleashed, fell freely and flowed down her cheeks anyway and she sniffed them back.

Daryl looked up at her hearing the telltale signs of tears and knew that was his cue. "Listen, it was nice meeting you, but I have enough to deal with right now without some bullshit story you've made up because you don't want to do this anymore. I get it." He moved toward the door and felt her eyes on him.

"Daryl that's not it," Beth choked on a sob. "Daryl, please just don't leave yet." Beth's voice was only a whisper. "Let me just explain."

He felt a weight settle over his chest and felt like he might suffocate if he didn't get out of there soon. Knew that once he was back on his bike, the world would right itself again and this weight over his heart would lift and he would be just fine.

Beth took one step forward and just barely touched the back of his vest, her fingers sliding over the stitching over the angel wings, memorizing how it felt. She noticed that it felt much sharper, much more real, feeling it all now than it had when she was still a Guardian.

"You'll call me?" Beth hated how her voice sounded. Hated that she wanted him to call her. Hated that she knew he probably wouldn't and she wondered why in hell, heaven or any other dimension she had made this choice to be human in the first place. _Subconscious natural transition_, her big toe. And worse still, he didn't even answer her question. What had she done? How had this all gotten so messed up?

Daryl could feel her behind him and it was the hardest thing he had ever done but he shrugged his shoulder away from her and with a sigh, opened the screen door and walked out into the night. When he heard the screen door slam shut, he felt like the door to his heart was closed forever, just like before. Before he had met her. Before he had kissed her and felt like he had come home somehow, like all the years before her hadn't mattered. But they did. They were who he was. They made up the heart and soul, if he even had one, of who Daryl Dixon was.

It had been too good to be true. He knew it. Hell, he figured even Hershel was in on the joke. He didn't know the angle Hershel Greene had on the whole story, but he wasn't sticking around to find out. As he climbed on the back of his bike, he expected the weight over his heart to lift and allow him to breathe again. Getting on his bike usually afforded him freedom; free to drive fast, free from feeling anything at all. But tonight, he saw her at every turn. He pictured the way she had looked when he had rounded that corner that night, standing in the moonlight as his bike slid out of control. Opening his eyes, his head in her lap and looking up at the bluest eyes he had ever seen. Leaning in and placing his lips over the softest hers, the best kiss he had ever had, the only one he could commit to memory. And now it was seared itself into the back of his mind, a permanent brand. He remembered sitting beside her in his old back yard, burning down the demons that chased him and nipped at his heels. He sped off into the night, needing to put distance between them, and as he drove into the sultry Georgia night, he drove like the devil himself was chasing him. And he figured he probably was. Always had been. Daryl knew when he finally did get to where he was going, all his demons would be waiting for him, ready to devour him all over again. It was just the way it was.

**Whew, that was really hard to write you guys. Broken-hearted angsty Daryl…..it's just heartbreaking and I actually cried writing this. I really just need Bethyl to happen already. I know you feel my pain or you probably wouldn't be reading my musings. But I thank you for sharing in this with me and reading, reviewing, sharing this story with others, and all the lovely PM's I get. And guest reviewers, I love you as well! Thank you for your kind words and placing faith in me to write this story the best I can how it plays out in my head. Okay, you know what to do. Read, review, rec, and repeat! Oh and just so you know, this was a 7000 word chapter and I had to split it up. Expect the rest by the end of the day. Call it inspiration from anticipation of the lovely SDCC trailer we will get this afternoon. Also the pics that Normily are posting the past two days are not really helping my feels much! And it will probably only get worse. Until next time, xoxoxoxo **


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Beth had spent the better part of the last hour alternating crying and listening to Hershel and Maggie fill her in on the most basic things of being mortal. She emptied out the manila envelope, finding all the things a person needed to survive in this world, including a passport, birth certificate, a cell phone and driver's license. There was a thick stack of cash at the bottom of the envelope, easily six or seven thousand dollars, enough to get herself on her feet. From the documents contained below the identification items, it appeared that she would be starting work in six weeks.

Hershel had explained that they had resources everywhere, people sympathetic to their cause and a network had been established after several decades of very hard work. He had also told her that she was welcome to stay there with them until she got on her feet. As upset as she was now, she had readily agreed. She would go apartment hunting tomorrow but for tonight she just needed to let her brain catch up to her heart.

She and Maggie were heavily ensconced in peanut butter track ice cream and a bunch of magazines Beth had never heard of. Maggie was filling her in on the hottest actors and actresses in Hollywood. Beth didn't imagine it was something she really cared about but the way Maggie described them, she felt like she actually knew them and they seemed interesting.

"Norman Reedus," Maggie breathed. "He was in this movie called Boondock Saints, him and Sean Patrick Flanery. They are both so hot!" Maggie exclaimed and then wiggled her eyebrows, "I'd do them both." Maggie made a face at her and Beth had to laugh at that. She had never met anyone as exuberant as Maggie. It was hard to be sad around her.

"I am worried about Daryl, Maggie," Beth whispered, her knees drawn up to her chest. "I hope he is okay."

"That's the one thing about the Dixon boys. They have, like nine lives or somethin'," Maggie explained, "They are virtually indestructible," Maggie said and then took in Beth's horrified expression.

"Oh my god, we are not tempting fate, I swear. Daddy does that all the time. Says we need to be mindful of what we say", Maggie rolled her eyes.

"So you know them then, the Dixons," Beth asked, her curiousity piqued at that point. "If Daryl were upset, where would he go to let off steam," Beth looked to Maggie.

"Probably Darlene's Canteen, this bar up the road a ways. It's basically a glorified pool hall," Maggie explained, then as realization dawned on her, her eyes snapped back up to Beth's, "Why, you want to go find him? Cause, it's probably not a good idea. The Dixons have a reputation here in town. If he was as upset as you think he was, it's best to leave him alone tonight. No telling what he is getting himself into," Maggie shook her head. Beth was already up and looking through Maggie's clothes and pulling on a pair of skinny jeans. She was going to have to go shopping for clothing tomorrow as well. She had no idea how to do any of this.

She looked at Maggie helplessly. "Help me. I don't….." Beth's voice trailed off.

Maggie sprung from the bed and enveloped Beth in an enormous hug. "It will be okay. I get it. You need to know if he is okay. We'll have to sneak out. I'm a grown woman but Daddy is still overprotective, especially since my stepmom died last year. It's just easier to humor him right now"

"Sneak out? You mean not tell Hershel where we are going?" Beth asked, not familiar with the practice of deception.

"Think of it as what he doesn't know, won't hurt him. Shawn was never good at it. Always got caught, every single time," Maggie grinned in Beth's direction. Shawn, Maggie had told her, was living in California, having gotten a job out there right after college.

Maggie began tossing everything out of her closet, pulling out a denim skirt and handed it to Beth along with an off the shoulder sheer black shirt and a black tank to go under it.

Beth stood and stared at Maggie, holding up the impossibly tiny skirt. "You want me to wear that?" She held it up inspecting the length. "It doesn't look like it covers hardly anything, Maggie," Beth gave the other girl a meaningful look.

"That's kind of the point," Maggie giggled. "God, Beth, I've always wanted a sister." She smiled softly at her. If this was what it felt like to have a family, Beth thought she might be able to get used to this, this part of humanity. The closeness she felt to Maggie after only a short while knowing her warmed her heart and she spontaneously reached out and hugged Maggie, who seemed very pleased.

The miniskirt wasn't something Beth would have chosen for herself but she decided to go with it. She kind of liked that they were conspiring on something together. She gathered everything and took it in the bathroom, quickly changing.

"It looks better on you than it ever did on me, that's for sure," Maggie remarked, surveying her in the mirror. "We just have to do something with your hair and make-up now,"

Maggie moved up to her and began to expertly apply light make up and tousled her hair, arranging the waves until they were spilling over her shoulders in golden waves. Beth stood back and admired the reflection. She had never given much thought to her looks before but she supposed by human standards she was somewhat attractive. Maggie handed her a pair of black high heel strappy sandals and Beth pulled them on and tested her balance, surprised at how much taller the shoes made her look.

"Hey, I'm tall now," Beth turned around and looked at the overall effect of the outfit and admired how Maggie had gotten her "bar-ready" as she put it. The eye make-up made her bright blue eyes spark just a bit brighter, her dark lashes a stark contrast against the alabaster of her skin.

Maggie let out a low whistle, "Daryl Dixon, eat your heart out." Maggie remarked.

Beth giggled at Maggie's expression. Maggie herself had chosen tight black skinny jeans and a white tiered shirt with spaghetti straps, the material loose and flowing over the pants. The effect was stunning and Beth tried to whistle like Maggie had but failed miserably and it had the two girls in a fit of giggles and trying to shush each other as to not wake up Hershel.

Once they were all finished, they snuck down the back stairs of the farm house and Maggie showed Beth all the telltale places to stay away from. "I been sneaking out for years, I've gotten pretty good at it," She smiled and Beth marveled at her. She didn't seem to be afraid of getting caught. Beth didn't know Hershel all that well but he kind of seemed like a strict father; the kind of father that didn't want his daughter going out this late, even if she was old enough to make the decision for herself.

Beth followed Maggie's lead and they eased out the back door and raced across the lawn to Maggie's red Honda Civic, the gears screaming a bit as Maggie shifted into second gear as they traveled up the gravel road. It was hard to believe that she had only come here with Daryl a couple of hours ago.

Beth breathed a sigh of relief as they pulled onto the highway and Maggie headed towards Atlanta. She had explained that they were not going all the way into downtown Atlanta. "If we go there this late, we will not likely get a parking place and they charge too much anyway," she had said explaining that downtown Atlanta was notorious for charging high fees for parking your car even for just a few hours.

They were silent for a few minutes and Beth realized she missed the easy way of riding with Daryl on the back of his motorcycle. She missed the way she had to hold onto him, gripping her arms around his waist and resting her cheek against his back, the cool of his leather vest inviting. She missed the way he smelled, like pine and tobacco and something unfamiliar but stirred her insides nonetheless. She missed the way he kissed her and how his lips felt on hers. Missed the way his thumbs tended to make circles on her skin when he was kissing her.

She hadn't even had time to process how his hand had felt over her breast and how her body had reacted. She missed being close to him. It was like a drug being close to Daryl Dixon. And now she might never have the chance again. She hoped he was okay and not going into self-destruct mode like he usually did. Like he had the day she had stood him up at the depot.

Maggie's voice broke through her reverie. "You'll like the place we're going now. Do you sing?" Maggie glanced her way quickly as they pulled into the parking lot of what looked like an old restaurant, neon signs in every window and people milling about at the front.

"Yes, I suppose I do," Beth smirked to herself. Guardians were commissioned to sing as far as she knew and she was no exception. Maggie parked the car and they each exited and Beth came around to the back to wait for Maggie, her presence being the only one she trusted.

"Good, because it's karaoke night and we're gonna kill it," Maggie said smugly and spun on her heel, Beth following in her wake.

They entered the bar and were met with a burly looking guy, all muscle, red hair and a mustache much too large for his face. Beth made to move past him and Maggie pulled her back just in time.

"She underage, Greene?" The man addressed Maggie like he knew her.

"No Abe, she's fine. She's with me. Beth, show him your I.D." Maggie smiled sweetly at the man and Beth was surprised to see him smile back, revealing two rows of perfect shiny white teeth. The smile did wonders for his disposition as without it he just appeared menacing.

Beth fumbled in the purse Maggie had lent her and dug out her I.D. "Beth Greene," Abe remarked, looking from Beth to Maggie. "She your kin?" Beth looked up at the man in surprise. She hadn't looked at the surname on any of her documents, hadn't really given it any thought actually.

"Yeah, she's my cousin. My dad's brother's kid from out in Oklahoma." Maggie looked to Beth then. "Beth this is Abe Ford" She nodded at Abe.

Beth extended her hand in greeting, "Nice to meet you Abe." Beth didn't know what to make of the guy but was surprised when he pulled both girls into his big arms.

"Nice to meet ya too, Beth. Any family of Maggie's is family to me too," Abe chuckled loudly then finally released them both as Maggie squealed that she couldn't breathe.

"Sorry Beth, Abe is just like a big teddy bear," Maggie said as she playfully punched Abe in the arm.

Abe handed Beth her I.D. back and she replaced it in her purse. "Well that was quite a warm welcome," Beth smiled at the man.

"Y'all ladies have a good time. If you run into trouble, you know where to find me. The crowd is kind of rowdy tonight, Greene, so watch out for your cousin. She might not be aware of how wild these Georgia boys can get amped up on beer and good music" Abe warned Maggie who readily agreed.

Maggie ushered her into the main area of the bar and Beth looked to her when they were out of earshot. "Beth Greene?" the last name sounded strangely familiar on her lips when spoken aloud.

"Yeah, guess Seth thought it would be easier if it appeared you were some distant relative. It usually is easier for y'all to transition if you have a kind of foster family to adopt you. It works out best that way," Maggie explained.

"How long have you known your father used to be a Guardian?" Beth asked and her voice was nearly drowned out by the general cacophony of the music, beer bottles clinging together and raucous voices.

"Since I was about ten. Mama told me right before she died. Thought it would kill Daddy when she passed. She was the reason he transitioned in the first place. But then he met my stepmom, Annette and he fell in love all over again. There is a legend that says that a Guardian loves with their whole being, not just their heart. So when they fall in love, it's like nothing us humans have ever felt and they keep on loving the person they transition forever. Or until one of them dies." Sadness flitted across Maggie's face for a moment, and then was gone, "It's why they can transition like they do. The intensity of their love just pulls them into mortality before they even knew what hit them" Maggie explained.

Beth opened her mouth to reply that was exactly what happened to her as there was loud applause from the crowd when a guy got down from the stage. He had been singing when they walked in and he was evidently a favorite of the place as they demanded an encore.

"Come on," Maggie had to practically yell as they made their way over. "Let's go get some beers. Follow my lead." Maggie said and winked conspiratorially at Beth.

They walked over to the bar and Maggie leaned over it, getting the attention of the bartender. "Hey Glenn, can you get us a couple of drinks. We'll have the usual" Maggie turned to Beth as the man behind the counter nodded in her direction and Beth didn't miss the way the Asian took in Maggie's appearance.

Maggie turned to Beth and leaned over to speak to Beth so she could hear what she was saying, "That's Glenn Rhee, I've been flirting with him for going on two months now and he still hasn't made a move. He's really shy. I think it's cute," Maggie said as she wiggled her hips for Glenn's benefit. The guy looked like he had just swallowed glass when he walked the two beers over to them and sat them on the counter.

"Hey Maggie, ice cold Bud Light Platinum, just like you like them" he grinned shyly at her.

Maggie handed Beth her bottle and winked at Glenn, handing him the right amount of cash. "Thanks, you're the best, Glenn." Maggie winked at him and turned from the bar. Beth did not miss the way he blushed under Maggie's praise as if his face told her that she was the best. Beth was pretty good at reading people and she could see that Glenn liked her.

"I'll come back and we can catch up later, huh?" Maggie looked at Glenn and tucked her hair behind her ear, tilting her head to the side, clearly flirting.

Glenn appeared flustered but nodded his head enthusiastically, "Yeah, later, it's crazy now but I want to kiss you later – errr, I mean catch you later, catch UP with you later," he stammered, clearly flustered by Maggie's attention. Beth felt sorry for him as he looked like he wanted to be swallowed whole by the worn wood plank floor.

"Yeah, I'm gonna hold you to the first one, Rhee," Maggie replied easily and turned on her heel, leaving a stunned Glenn watching her go. Beth followed, marveling at how sure Maggie was about herself, her hips swaying back and forth as she walked.

She and Maggie sat down at a table near the stage and Maggie perused the selection of songs, looking up at Beth who was staring at her beer like it was a foreign object. She guessed in a way it was. She had never had a drop of alcohol her entire life.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I keep forgetting. You just look so normal," Maggie remarked. "I keep forgetting somehow that you haven't done any of this before. It's beer and it's awful at first but you'll get used to it," Maggie smiled softly at her and demonstrated by taking a sip of her own.

Beth lifted the bottle to her lips and tipped it back, taking a long swallow the liquid cold and soothing to her parched throat but having a slightly bitter taste to it. She took another swallow and found that it was better the second time around, thinking Maggie was probably right.

Maggie moved her hand to the bottle and gently pushed it away from Beth's lips. "Slow down there, Bethy," Maggie laughed. "You'll be drunk before we even get to sing." Beth didn't say anything but she rather liked the nickname. It felt somehow, familiar, and homey.

Maggie ran her fingers down the print of the sheet listing all the karaoke songs and asked Beth, "What do you like to sing?"

"I don't know, I guess. Just about anything," Beth looked up to the stage where a leggy redhead was belting out "Love Shack" pandering to the enthusiastic claps and whistles of every man gathered around the stage. Beth suspected their attentions strayed more to her large chest than to her singing ability, which was actually quite appalling, but she was having a good time and Beth smiled at her enthusiasm.

She finished the song and moved from the stage and into the arms of none other than Merle Dixon. Beth stared in surprise at the older Dixon, wrapping his arms around the girl, kissing the side of her neck and she tried not to but their eyes met anyway. It actually hurt to look at Merle as she couldn't do so without thinking of Daryl. His eyes came to rest on hers and he raised his eyebrows at her and tipped his beer to her and she mimicked his move and brought the bottle to her lips and tipped the bottle back, finishing it and setting the bottle down with a loud clink on the table. "I need another," she said to Maggie, looking at her as if to challenge her.

"Okay, it's your funeral. Don't say I didn't warn you." Maggie motioned to get the attention of one of the waitresses wandering around with a tray of something that looked like test tubes.

A tall, slender but muscular man stepped in front of the waitress and whipped out a few bills and handed them to the waitress as he took the tray from her, six remaining test tubes lined up in the slots that held them in place. The guy was attractive, shaggy hair hanging in his face, and his green eyes seemed to take everything in and he looked Beth up and down as he approached. "Did it hurt?"

"Excuse me?" Beth asked him and looked to Maggie for support but she was distracted as she was watching Glenn at the bar.

"Did it hurt? When you fell from Heaven?" Beth just looked at him and though she was a novice even she knew that was a cheesy pick up line and thinking on her predicament, she just laughed.

"Really?" She managed between fits of giggles.

"I know, I know, it's a terrible pick up line," he said, setting the strange glass tubes down on the table and handed Beth one. "You're so beautiful though, it's pretty intimidating," he held up the tube with a strange green liquid to Beth. "I'm Gareth." He said and Beth took in a deep breath. She didn't know how to handle this. He was clearly hitting on her and it was the last thing she really wanted, but she was here and he was here and maybe she could just be friends with him.

"Gareth, I'm Beth. I'm here with my….errr, cousin Maggie," Maggie turned her head then finally turning away from where she had been watching Glenn's every move.

Maggie turned then to face them again and an angry look passed across her normally docile features, "Gareth, why don't you slither away and stalk someone else," Maggie said coolly, crossing her arms over her chest as Glenn approached with two more beers.

Maggie plucked the test tube from Beth's fingers and threw it in the nearby trash can. "She ain't interested in you," Maggie said smoothly and eyed him warily.

Beth watched the exchange and Gareth just smiled at her, not missing a beat. "Well if you get rid of your chaperone later, Beth," Gareth said completely unfettered by Maggie's contempt of him, "you come find me," And with that, he moved away from their table.

"I can't stand that guy," Glenn remarked as he walked away.

"He gives me the creeps," Maggie replied.

"He's kind of cute, but he's no Daryl." Beth sighed deeply, watching him leave and Maggie placed her hand over hers, sliding her beer over.

"Here, a couple more of these and you'll forget all about Daryl. He doesn't know what he's lost, Bethy. Besides, you never know, he might come around," Beth looked at Maggie, her expression clear.

"I know, it's not likely but I'm a hopeless romantic." Maggie laughed and patted Beth's hand, then smiled softly at her. "I really do think he will come around," Maggie said confidently, her voice low so only Beth could hear. Beth looked up at Maggie and her bright green eyes held compassion and understanding.

Glenn watched the exchange curiously. "Daryl Dixon?" Glenn's eyebrows raised a bit and he looked to Maggie for explanation but she just shook her head quickly. Glenn nodded and ducked away. "I'll see you ladies in a bit. Gotta get back to the bar." He smiled at Maggie and touched her on the shoulder.

Beth took a long drink from her second beer and watched Maggie's mouth form a little 'o', giggling at her stunned expression. As soon as he was back at the bar, Maggie turned to Beth, "Did you see that? I've been trying to get him to flirt back with me forever. Bethy, I'm gonna call you my good luck charm. This might be the night," Maggie wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and Beth laughed at her.

"And now, ladies and gentleman, we have the pleasure of hearing our very own Maggie Greene and she will be singing a duet tonight. Everybody give it up for Beth and Maggie Greene," the guy from the stage announced their turn at the mike and Beth looked to Maggie who curtsied prettily to the crowd before taking a swig of her beer. Beth took a long pull off her beer as well just before Maggie grabbed her hand and they walked up on the stage.

As the first notes began, Beth recognized the song instantly and was glad that Maggie had picked something upbeat and something that everyone would know and love. The last thing she wanted to hear right now was a slow song that would bring the tears on again.

The music started and Beth looked at the screen to follow the prompts, even though she could probably sing it without them. The first few notes of Living on a Prayer came out and everyone started cheering wildly. Beth looked over at Maggie as they started singing and they smiled widely at one another. The crowd sang along with the chorus every time and the whole crowd was really loving it all. Beth was exhilarated and a little light-headed but she had never felt more alive. They sang two more songs after that and in between Beth had two more beers.

After the third song, Beth and Maggie pleaded off with the crowd with the promise to return for another song in a few.

As they left the stage, Beth fanning her neck with her hand, she looked at Maggie. "Is it always this crazy?" Beth shouted to be heard above the din.

Maggie was a little breathless, "No, I think it's you," Maggie grinned at her then. "I told you Bethy, good luck charm!" Maggie retrieved two more beers for them and came rushing back over.

"Bethy, Glenn invited us to an after party when the bar closes", She gushed as she came back with more beers.

Beth hugged her tightly. "That's great Maggie!," She was so happy for Maggie, but she wondered where the party was and who would be there. She missed Daryl fiercely. Her thoughts started traveling to that dark place she had been earlier after he had left so she tried to force them away and took a long swallow of beer.

"Need another drink sweetheart?" Gareth had come up behind her and Maggie was distracted by watching Glenn at the bar.

"No, I'm fine, but thanks," Really at this point, Beth just wanted him to disappear. Maggie had told him she wasn't interested but maybe he needed to hear it from her.

"You sure, you looked real good up there. I don't think I have ever seen anyone more beautiful than you Beth," he whispered.

Something about the way he said her name made her skin crawl and she wished he would just reel the words back in his mouth. She shifted uncomfortably and cleared her throat, but Maggie would never hear her over the applause, music and general madness in the bar.

Across the room, there was someone else watching and he didn't look happy. He picked up his phone and hit the speed-dial and waited for it to ring.

* * *

Daryl had come home with the six pack of beer and didn't have the heart to drink any of them. He really seldom did anymore. It reminded him too much of his old man. He had tried to like beer, a lot of his buddies liked to drink it and Merle considered himself a regular beer connoisseur.

He had thought about nothing but Beth since he had gotten home and he was moping about the house now, trying to find something to eat and finally giving up deciding that he wasn't even hungry.

His cell phone rang and he looked at the display. Fucking Merle. He didn't want to get it but after the funeral that afternoon, he felt bad not getting it. "Yeah?" He bit out gruffly as he answered.

"Hey there Darylina. Thought you might like to know something" Merle said, his voice thick with booze just like Daryl had thought.

"What the hell are you talking about, Merle?" Daryl was in no mood for his shit.

"You girl is here and she is singing with that Greene girl. She is creating quite a bit of commotion. No one ain't ever seen her before. Supposed to be some kin to the Greenes. She's all anyone is talking about. She's attracting way too much attention and it ain't gonna end well." Merle explained.

"She can take care of herself, I ain't coming down there Merle" Daryl did not have the energy to deal with his brother right now and he clicked to end the call.

He waited for a few minutes and was just getting ready to head to bed when he saw the message from Merle. _"She may be able to take care of herself. But I just didn't think you'd want that Gareth fucker's hands on her like they are right now." _

Daryl fumed at reading the text and had a surge of anger rush over him so strong he was nearly shaking. He grabbed his keys, phone and vest and headed out the door. The hell Gareth was gonna put his hands on Beth. Fucker had the worst reputation of any guy in the county and no way was he gonna let him anywhere near Beth, circumstances be damned. Gareth best be gone by the time I get there, Daryl thought, or somebody was going to jail tonight and it sure as fuck was not going to be Gareth.

* * *

Beth had barely gotten away from Gareth for the third time. He was like a bad penny and kept turning up and it was really started to unnerve her. Abe had offered to kick him out but Beth didn't see that it was necessary to ruin everyone's good time just because of one stupid guy. She and Maggie started the next song much to the delight of the crowd.

"I made it through the wilderness,

Somehow I made it through

Didn't know how lost I was

Until I found you"

Beth noticed a movement out of the corner of her eye and nearly dropped the microphone. Daryl. Her heart just about stopped beating in her chest and then thundered loudly and she was sure the whole bar could hear it. Her voice was slightly shaky until she found her footing again. He just stood at the back, listening to her.

"_I was beat, incomplete_

_I'd been had, I was sad and blue_

_But you made me feel_

_Shiny and new_

_Like a virgin_

_Touched for the very first time_

_Like a virgin_

_When your heart beats_

_Next to mine_

_Gonna give you all my love boy_

_My fear is fading fast_

_Been saving it all for you_

_Cause only love can last"_

Beth met Daryl's eyes and she realized that she had been staring at him for the last few stanzas. She blushed furiously as she thought of the meaning of the words of the song and she wondered if he thought she was singing it for him. Was she?

It really was true. She was saving all her love for him; every single word of the song echoed her life in a way. She found it absurd that she was identifying so strongly with this particular song but she didn't care. Daryl eyed her warily from his perch along the back wall and she wished he would walk closer. She wanted more than anything to just put down the microphone and run into his arms, but she finished the song dutifully and then put the mic down. Maggie looked at her curiously as they walked from the stage. Beth whispered, "It's Daryl. He's here."

Gareth approached her as she left the stage and Beth fought the urge to roll her eyes. A local band had taken the stage now and were getting ready to perform, so most everyone's eyes were there. Beth tried to sidestep Gareth, her eyes meeting Daryl's. She would have had to be blind to miss the flash of anger there.

Gareth blocked her move effectively by stepping in front of her. They were near the dance floor then. As the band began to play a slow song, Gareth spoke "Beth, you sounded so good. But you didn't sing not one slow song. Now's our chance to dance together," Gareth looked down at her and leered at her. Beth literally felt chills travel down her spine from the back of her neck. Every warning bell was going on in the back of her mind.

"No, thank you Gareth. If you would excuse me, there's someone I need to talk to you," Beth was fighting down the panic as Gareth put his hand on her arm and gripped it none too lightly. She tried to pry his fingers off but he just gripped them tighter.

"Gareth, you're hurting me. I said I don't want to dance right now," Beth was trying her best to remain calm but she had a wave of nausea hit her then.

In an instant, his hand was yanked from her arm and he went flying backwards. "The lady said no, fuck-brain", Daryl bit out as he stood over him, his shoulders heaving with anger.

Abe was upon them in a flash, pulling Daryl off of him before he could pummel his face into the floor. Glenn came over too and pulled Gareth up and escorted him to the door.

Abe looked to Daryl who was glaring at him. "Hands off me, Ford," Daryl demanded as he jerked his arm away.

"No need to be a dick," Abe said evenly. "I should kick your ass out, but that guy really did have it coming to him. He wouldn't leave her alone all night."

"Well, why the hell didn't you stop him then?" Daryl nearly spat the words at the taller, burly man.

Beth looked back and forth between the two of them and she wondered if they even knew she was there. She whistled loudly to get their attention. "Hey guys, remember me?" she began, her eyes flashing at both of them. "He didn't stop him because I told him I could handle it myself," Beth huffed.

Daryl sighed, his shoulders heaving slightly and Abe mumbled an apology. Maggie had joined the scuffle by then. Of course, it was nearly over but she was there to put her two cents in.

"Okay, everyone, shows over. Back to your regularly scheduled programming folks." She shooed everyone away, including Abraham.

Beth glanced at her, sending her a look that oozed gratitude. She looked at Daryl then and they stared at each other for a long minute.

"I'm- " Beth started.

"I didn't-" Daryl began.

They both laughed nervously. "Do you want to go outside and talk for a bit?" Daryl asked her, not quite meeting her eyes and toeing his boot across the floor, both hands buried in his pockets. Beth nodded at him eagerly and hoped they could work this thing out between them.

As they walked outside, he grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together and Beth looked up at him in surprise. She hadn't really been expecting that. Hadn't expected to even see him again. It wasn't much, him holding her hand like that, but as he squeezed it gently, she looked at him in surprise. He winked at her and she thought maybe things might be okay after all.

**Okay sorry guys, I know you probably wanted Bethyl kisses and more fluff but it was the best I could do. This was a hella long chapter! Hope you are not mad at me anymore. Or at least maybe I started down the path to forgiveness for making our Bethyl sad. But guys, the trailer!? Beth! Okay I'm off to the Bethyl Ghost Chat to properly fangirl. Y'all know what to do! Until next time, xoxoxoxo **


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

When Daryl saw her up on that stage belting out lyrics to "Like a Virgin" like she did shit like that every day, he knew his jaw had dropped open momentarily and he was thankful for the dim lighting so no one could see just how affected he was by it. Every time she sang the line "touched for the very first time", he thought of how he had kissed her that first time. He knew he had never tasted anything sweeter than kissing her. Wanted to kiss her again but his brain was having a hard time reconciling what he had recently learned with how he felt about her. When he went home, he had tried getting drunk but his heart just hadn't been into it and he had to wonder what in the hell she had done to him.

Instead, he had pulled up his lap top and done and internet search on angels, fallen angels, loving angels, and now he had more questions than answers. He didn't want to believe any of what Hershel had said and Beth had agreed with. She had not admitted it to be the truth but she hadn't denied it either. When he thought about how she had appeared in his life so suddenly, it made sense. He had always been the practical sort, taking things at face value for the most part, never questioning things. Never questioning his beliefs, until he met her. His emotions had been in the biggest whirlwind since he seen her on the side of the road that night.

That night. That night was important. She had just been standing there. He had thought a lot about the accident and how he probably should be dead. The speed he was going combined with the conditions of the road and the angle of the curve, he was amazed he didn't have a scratch on him and his bike only needed some buffing to even out the wax job on it. He had a lot of time to think and he needed to talk to her. He had known that at his apartment and he was content to wait until the next day but when Merle had called, he knew he had to go see for himself what Gareth was up to. He couldn't stand the guy. Never had. He had moved into Senoia about four years ago, kind of coming out of nowhere, but he had infiltrated the town and most of the townspeople liked him. But a select few like him, Abraham and Merle, couldn't stand him. There was just something about him that made Daryl's nerves stand on edge and made him want to punch a brick wall or Gareth's face. Yes, that would have been even better. Thank god Ford had made him leave. They had watched him drive away a few minutes ago and Daryl had only now felt some of the tension start to leave his body.

Now as he stood outside the bar, Beth leaning back lazily against the brick wall to the side of the building, away from prying eyes, he stood across from her, hands shoved deep in his pockets, unsure of what to do next. Now that he had her outside to talk to her he had no fucking idea what to say. That was the hell of it. He had never been good at relationships with the opposite sex because of this right here. He was no good at this shit. So he shuffled his feet back and forth. They could hear the strains of music coming out through the doors and the band was beginning a fast set now, the music pulsating and beating.

"So what brought you down here tonight?" Beth asked him. God she made a picture standing against that wall in that impossibly short skirt and legs going all the way up to, well, Heaven he guessed. It was still weird for him to think about. It changed how he thought.

He figured sticking to the truth would be best, seeing as how he couldn't think of a damn word to say anyway. "Merle called me, told me Gareth was bothering you," so I came to check it out. "Merle's a hard-ass but I think he might have a soft spot for you." He said.

Beth saw the corners of his mouth turn up in a smirk and she thought maybe, just maybe, they could work this thing out between them. She blinked hard to clear her vision as things were starting to sway a bit. Her mouth was dry too. "Do you think you could get me somethin' to drink?," she asked him, reaching to push her hair off her neck. She had gotten quite hot up on the stage with the lights and the dancing around she and Maggie had been doing on that last song. Karaoke. Who knew that could be so much fun!

"Sure, what's your poison?" he asked her, making a move to walk back into the bar, although he wasn't sure about leaving her out here by herself. Senoia was a small town but he wouldn't put it past Gareth to stalk the parking lot, looking for trouble.

"Poison?," Beth just looked at him quizzically. "I don't think I want that." She was confused.

Daryl chuckled softly and turned to look at her. She was so cute with that look on her face. "It's an expression, darlin'". He didn't know why but the pet name just slid off his tongue like it was the most natural thing in the world. She had gotten upset when he had called her Angel. Now he knew why.

Beth giggled then. "Okay then, well I guess I'll have another of the beer Maggie and I have been drinking all night. Can you make sure she is okay? I feel bad leaving her all alone." Beth leaned back against the brick wall again, tilting her head back to look at the stars.

"I'll be back in a flash," Daryl replied walking back into the bar. Back in a flash? Who used expressions like that anyway? Him, he guessed.

God he was so bad at this. He quickly walked over to the bar, where Maggie was sitting on a barstool, head tilted to the side and propped on her hand and from where he was standing he was pretty sure Glenn was getting a pretty good glimpse at her cleavage. It wasn't like she was doing anything to hide it. Glenn was a pretty good guy. They had hung out a few times, played pool together, him and Merle and a couple other regulars. He didn't know why he didn't just go ahead and make his move with Maggie. It wasn't like she was exactly subtle and she could have any guy in here, but she wanted him. He shook his head as he walked up to her and moved between the bar stools and got Glenn's attention.

"Hey man, can I get two of whatever Beth's been drinking tonight?" he asked him and Glenn nodded his way and then focused his attention back on Maggie.

Maggie turned to look at him, "She okay? Wait where is she?" She glanced around, panic and fear crossing her features. "God, some surrogate sister I am. Can't even keep track of her for one night." Maggie drawled.

"She's fine. Abe is watching her from the door. She is just getting some air. Plus we need to…..clear some things up." He finished, shrugging his shoulders.

"You guys will work it out. My dad said my mom had a hard time believing him at first. But once she accepted it, it was all over for the two of them. Same thing with Annette. My Dad loves with his whole heart. It's the way of them, ya know. They can't help themselves. They aren't like us. The love they feel is pure and they feel it to the depth of their soul. It's really beautiful. You have no idea how lucky you are Dixon. If you hurt her…" She let her words trail off and gave him a menacing look.

Daryl stepped back from the bar and held his hands up in mock surrender. "Whoa there, I think you got the sister bit down pat. Ain't gonna hurt her. Least gonna try not to. She probably ought to steer clear 'o the likes of me." he let out a breath and looked at the floor.

"Hey," Maggie said and when he didn't respond, she reached out and touched his arm. She didn't know how in the world this man could rip the sleeves off his shirt and make it look sexy. But damn. If she wasn't so helplessly head over heels for Glenn who was taking an eternity to make a move, she'd go for him herself. But from the looks of it, he was head over heels for Beth.

She smiled softly as he finally looked up at her. "I know you have a rep. But I like to think Beth can change that. I like to think that you two can have something pretty damn special. If you let it happen." She looked at him pointedly and he just nodded mutely.

He thought about what Maggie said all the way back outside, carrying the two beers. He nodded at Abe as he walked back outside and Abe nodded and took leave of his post and walked back inside.

"Come on," He said to her as he approached, handing her the beer and holding out his hand.

Beth looked at him curiously. "Where we going?" He looked so impossibly sexy, her heart fluttered in her chest as she took his hand, lacing their fingers together. She looked down at their linked fingers as they walked to the side of the parking lot. It was amazing how perfectly their fingers fit together.

She looked back at him to find that he was studying her carefully as they walked towards a pick-up truck. "What?"

Daryl flushed when she caught him staring at her. She was so goddamned beautiful, it didn't make any sense. He could look at her all day, all night and never get tired of it. Her hair, god her hair. He wanted to run his fingers through it, it looked like something between spun silk and the finest cashmere. He wondered what it would be like to have her under him, her hair fanned out over the pillows. He felt himself go hard and he shook his head to clear the mental image but he knew he was never going to get it out of his head. Once the brain strayed to those thoughts, it was hard to erase.

He shifted his leg uncomfortably as they reached the bed of his pick up truck where he had backed in earlier when he arrived. He seldom drove it anymore, preferring the bike since it was just him. It was a 2004 Dodge Dakota and he had detailed to the max and it had aluminum wheels, hydraulic lift on the tires, and it was the biggest redneck truck in all of King county and he didn't care. It was his and he loved it. He let down the tailgate and climbed up into the back of it and held his hand down for her.

"Come on up, it's a perfect place to look at the stars," He was secretly pleased that had come out half way decent. Maybe he could do this after all. Maybe it would get easier.

He set her beer to the side with his and pulled her up into the bed of the truck with him. He handed her the beer and they sat on the edge of the tailgate and let their legs dangle down.

"So are you mad at me still?" Beth glanced at him sideways. She held her breath waiting on his response. When he had walked out of Hershel's house, letting the screen door slam behind him, it felt like the door had been slammed closed on her heart, the pain was so stark and strong.

He took a long pull of his beer and watched as she mimicked his actions. "Slow down there, darlin' it'll go to your head pretty quick." Should he be letting an angel, well a fallen one anyway, drink beer? He wasn't sure but she sure did look damn sexy with her lips wrapped around that beer bottle. Don't even go there Dixon, he warned himself watching her lips as they popped free of the bottle.

"I'm fine, Daryl. But it's sweet of you to worry." She said, smiling at him sweetly. She did have a kind of pleasant buzzing going on in her head. Just a slight dizziness and a calm that had slipped down over her mind, like a warm blanket. She realized it felt good. "Im still waiting." She said, looking at him pointedly.

Daryl thought when she looked at him, she saw straight into his soul and he knew he would never be able to lie to her, even if he wanted to. He was helpless to her charm, her innocence, her beauty. Hell he was helpless to her, period. He figured if she were to ask him to jump off a bridge, he'd ask which one. He was enchanted by her. Angel or not, he was in this. He couldn't be anywhere else.

"Nah, I ain't mad, Princess," He liked that nickname. It seemed to fit her perfectly. She kind of looked like one of those fairy tale princesses his cousins kid was always playing with. Rapunzel or some shit. Long blonde hair with a prince that came and rescued her from high up in a tower. He guessed Heaven could be the tower, although he wasn't sure what he was supposed to be rescuing her from.

Beth blushed at the term of endearment. She liked it way better than Angel. "You sure looked mad," she remarked.

"Yeah, Dixons are like that. We run hot blooded one minute and once we get the anger out of our systems, it just fizzles out. Don't stay mad, but if you're around when it hits, best look out." He said and it was true. He was quick to anger, always had been. A loose cannon his mama used to call him, his daddy and Merle. He supposed it was true. Now that he was sitting beside her, all the fight had gone out of him.

"Tell me somethin' though," he looked at her waiting for her to look over at him. She had been watching a couple by the door, arguing quietly.

"Sure, anything?" she looked over at him, her arms propping her up as she leaned back a little and her chest pushed out against the sky.

"That night, the accident when you were standing by the road waiting on me." That was the moment that stood out in his mind the most. He knew he had seen her earlier that night and there was no real way to explain how she had ended up on the side of the road, no car, no bike, nothing to show for why she was there. It should have stood out before, but it hadn't. Until now.

"I was there to help you." She admitted, her voice soft and her eyes right on him, taking in the emotions as they came across his face.

"Help me?" He wore a puzzled expression.

"You were upset when you left the depot. And I didn't show up. But I couldn't. My boss," she stopped herself, realizing she didn't have to cover the truth anymore. "Seth, my advisor, told me I needed to back off because we were getting too close. He was afraid I was going to have to make a choice I wasn't ready to make. About being mortal." She explained, her voice carrying in the night. He found he wanted to hear her sing again.

"So you didn't show up that night because you weren't allowed." Daryl thought he understood but he wasn't sure.

"Well I could have come. We have, had," she corrected herself, "free will. Just like mortals. We could choose. But Seth had told me to take a few days before taking the assignment." Beth looked at him, wondering what he was thinking, glad he was talking to her, glad he seemed accepting of the situation, but wary of his reaction to every nuance.

"Assignment?" he looked at her, clearly puzzled. "You mean you were my, like, guardian angel or somethin'?" realization dawned on him then and all the pieces clicked into place. All the places he had seen her. When he saw her looking over that guy's paper, he was contemplating cuttin' out of work early and lettin' loose, maybe even seeing if he could score something with a little edge. Something more than beer. Nothing too heavy. He stayed away from that shit. But then he had seen her and all thoughts of it had vanished. He hadn't thought of it again until now.

Then he had seen her at the store after that bar fight. That didn't need explanation. But when he had seen her at the shop when he had fallen asleep. That one puzzled him. "So I know all the times that I saw you, it was to stop me from doing some stupid shit. But this one time. I was outside, sleeping on my lunch break-" Daryl stopped because she was giggling.

"What's so damn funny?" Anger rose to the surface.

"Don't get mad," she reached over and touched his hand and he looked up at her expression, amused like she knew something he didn't.

"I wasn't there to keep you from doing anything stupid. That time was for me." She admitted, ducking her head shyly.

Daryl's mouth dried out as her shirt slipped down with her movement, revealing the top of her breast, the skin white and creamy and begging to be kissed.

"For you?" Daryl was having a very hard time concentrating on what she was saying so he reached over and pulled her shirt up, straightening it out.

Beth looked up at him in surprise and then down at her shirt, Maggie's shirt, realizing that at the way it had skewed with her leaning back to look at the stars, it left very little to the imagination. She felt the blush creeping up in her cheeks. She decided that this, this was the thing she did not like about being human. This feeling of completely embarrassment. It was foreign and it made her heart beat fast. Which that part was fine, the beating heart, it was the flushed face, displaying everything she was feeling like people could read her mind, that bothered her.

"Yes, I was, am, fascinated by you." She said, her smile shy and her eyes flitted to his to see his reaction.

His eyes went wide with surprise. "Fascinated? By me?" He looked at her and he knew he looked like an idiot with his mouth hanging open but no one had ever been fascinated by him before. He was just some dumb redneck to most people. He wasn't supremely intelligent. He had to get his GED online after he dropped out of school. Then he had gone to community college and gotten his two year degree in auto mechanics. He knew the workings of a car, he just wanted to get the degree for him. Something he could be proud of.

"Yeah, I guess I had a crush on you. Have a crush on you." She smiled up at him and he knew he had fallen then. Fallen under her spell. Fallen in love? Was that what this was? A slow song was playing inside. The band had switched to a nice ballad, he recognized it from the radio. It was fairly new by a band he liked, Between the Trees.

He jumped down from the bed of the truck, impulsive, reckless maybe, but he didn't care. He held out his hand for her and she looked down at him, smiling, "What?"

"Just come on." He held his hand out patiently and she took it and then he thought better of it and put one hand on either side of her waist as she slid forward and down, gripping her hips as she slid down against him, her warmth pressing against him and he kept her close as he set her feet on the ground. He kept one hand at her hip, and moved the other up around her shoulder, resting it against her shoulder blade and she was so slight beneath him, he feared he would break her so he held her as gently as possibly as he started to sway to the music. He couldn't dance, had never slow danced, but he wanted to, with her. He looked down at her smiling like an idiot as saw he expression, realizing what he meant to do. She slid one arm around his waist and the other snaked up around his neck, looking up at him all the while.

_Please wait while I slowly untie my tongue, tonight_

_I pray by some feeble attempt, my words would tell you What my heart has to say_

'_Cause you've always been right beside me for so many days_

_How could I be without you now?_

'_Cause I am changed by you_

_The more I get to know you_

_The more I want you close to me_

_I'll take care of you_

_Please just say you'll let me forever be whatever you need_

Beth looked up at Daryl and the intensity of his gaze was so strong she had to fight the urge to look away. She became so overcome with emotion, she felt tears pricking at the backs of her eyes, she blinked furiously to keep them away, then leaned her head against his chest, hearing the music from inside, the lyrics to the song seeping in and speaking to her.

_And so if you're supposed to get what you deserve in life_

_And you came just in the nick of time_

_God's grace has overtaken me_

_My love, needless to say, I am blessed by you_

'_Cause you are the one, you are the one_

_That I've been waiting for_

_I've been waiting for_

The chorus repeated then and Daryl thought about the words. "The more I get to know you, the more I want you close to me. I'll take care of you." He would. He would take care of her. He would be whatever she needed. If she needed a friend in this new world she was just getting used to he would do that. But he really wanted it to be more. For the first time in his life, he wanted something more. Something more with her. With Beth. He had never met anyone like her in his whole life and he knew why now. He had been waiting for someone like her. Only she didn't exist until she literally came down from Heaven. He almost could laugh at the corniness of the situation. He had fallen in love with an angel and he didn't care one whit if he was going to hell for it. It would be worth the burn. It couldn't be any worse than the burning need he was feeling now.

_You melt my fears away_

_You reach inside me with your eyes_

_And light a burning fire_

_And I cannot stop staring_

He pulled away from her then, the song, the music, the night, the circumstances, making him think crazy thoughts like just whisking her away somewhere, just the two of them. Away from this bar, away from this town, away from his past, and just build a future with her. His chest was heaving with everything he was feeling.

Beth looked up at him in surprise as he pulled away from her. He had changed his mind again. He was not going to be able to get over this and all of it, the transition, would have been for nothing. But when she looked up at him, she hadn't been expecting it, the intensity of his gaze, his blue eyes piercing hers and she saw everything he felt. He loved her. And she knew she loved him. She parted her lips in anticipation and her insides felt like they were on fire and pulsing.

Daryl looked down at her, her hair tousled from all the dancing and singing and he could see the shine in her eyes put there by a little too much beer, a little too much dancing but what he decided was that she had not been kissed. Not nearly enough and he was getting ready to fix that. As his chest heaved and his heart pounded, knowing when his lips met hers he might be able to quell some of this yearning, but he was wrong. His lips met hers tentatively, softly, and he needed more. Her lips parted under his and he didn't waste time. He slid his tongue into her waiting mouth and she responded to his probing, letting her tongue slide over his, seductively and it was his undoing. He lost all control of his movements and he moved his hands up to her head to grip the sides of it, holding her head in place so his mouth could continue its onslaught.

Beth was dizzy, panting, and a delicious weight had settled in dipping down into her stomach, lower until it reached a pulsating point between her thighs. His kisses did nothing to stop this feeling. The more his tongue probed her mouth and his teeth nipped and he suckled on her bottom lip, the more she wanted to press her body against his. She pulled her mouth from his, drawing in breath greedily and dipping her head back against the night sky, looking up at the stars as he descended his mouth on her neck, nipping at the tender flesh there and she gasped and moaned, the sounds surprising her, enticing her and she liked it. Needed more. Needed more of his lips on her.

Daryl groaned when she pressed herself more firmly against him and dropped her head back and he wished there was a bed behind her to catch them both so he could do this properly. The way he saw it in his head. The way he had never done it with anyone else. He was kissing down her neck, contemplating moving lower to the top of one of her creamy breasts when Hershel's face popped into his head like some kind of chaperone.

"What the fuck?" he muttered as he staggered backwards and Beth, looking a little dazed, followed after him.

He stood her back up and straightened her shirt out. He tried not to stare to much at how it kept falling off her shoulders and exposing one slip of skin or another, making him want impossible things. He wondered at what the hell his mind was doing to him, kissing Beth one minute and Hershel's face obstructing his vision the next, like some kind of warning. He guessed things were about to take a different turn, would have if not for the fact that they were standing in a parking lot, dancing like fools in the moonlight, not caring one way or another if someone stumbled upon them.

"Daryl, why did you stop?" Beth's voice had a lilt to it that wasn't there before they started dancing. She looked up at him, her eyes dancing and she placed both her hands on his chest, splaying her fingers out, her thumbs rubbing circles in his shirt.

"'Cause Beth, it was the right thing to do. Hershel-" his voice trailed off because he knew that Hershel probably shouldn't have anything to do with any of this. It wasn't like she wasn't old enough to make up her own mind.

"Hershel?" she asked. "What does he have to do with anything?" she asked, giggling, as if she had read his mind. "We snuck out, me and Maggie," she said between giggles.

Good grief, she was drunk, he realized. Now what the fuck was he supposed to do with her. He couldn't take her back to Hershel's place like this. He'd known the man a long time but he'd skin his hide for letting her get this tanked.

"How much have you had to drink, Beth?" he asked her, chuckling softly at the drunken look she had on her face.

"Not nearly enough. I need another beer, sir," she said, patting at his chest. "You are my knight in shining armor," She said, giggling again. "You saved me from the evil ogre Gareth"

Shit, fucking shit, and damn. She was truly shit-faced. "You're a mess girl." He said, holding her close as she fell back into his arms again, her balance unsteady.

"I'm your mess though right, Daryl?" She couldn't seem to stop giggling.

"Yeah, Princess, you are. You're my girl." It wasn't what he meant to say, but he realized it was true just the same.

She looked at him then, her face full of wonder and hope, mixed with a drunken grin, "I'll be your girl." It was a promise and his heart definitely skipped a beat. His girl. He'd never had anyone before. Never had someone he could lay claim to. Never had someone that wanted him to. He might regret it all later, but he was claiming her now. Claiming this, what they had. Because it felt good and it felt right. And he hadn't had anything good, in forever.

Sighing, he thought he'd better get her inside to Maggie, who probably wouldn't be any happier with him than Hershel would be. He turned her around to face the door of the bar and put a hand on either shoulder to guide her back inside. He needed to get her home, maybe his place? But he couldn't leave her out here by herself while he figured it out. So back inside they were going.

"Oh goodie, we're going to get more beer." She clapped her hands giddily and he rolled his eyes at the back of her head.

When they got back inside a fast, metal version of Porn Star Dancing was playing and he groaned. This song always did things to his brain. And other parts. He did not need this right now.

_But I got a girl who can put on a show_

_The dollar decides how far you can go_

_She wraps those hands around that pole_

_She licks those lips and off we go_

_She takes it off nice and slow_

_Because that's porn star dancing_

_She don't play nice, she makes me beg_

_She drops that dress around her legs_

_And I'm sitting right by the stage for this_

_Porn star dancing_

As they walked into the bar and approached the dance floor, Maggie pulled Beth onto the dance floor and they began to dance together and Daryl's jaw dropped to the floor as he watched Beth drop all the way to the floor and come back up slowly just like she'd been doing it her whole life, but he knew better. God, did he know better. This was all bad. All of it. How in the hell was he going to get her home and not rip her clothes off and have his way with her.

She was laughing at something Maggie had whispered in her ear and she looked at him, while the song played on.

_Your body's lightin up the room_

_I want a naughty girl like you_

_There's nothing hotter than this_

Dear god, he thought, then stopped himself. There wasn't anything godly about what she was doing on that dance floor. Nothing godly about what he was thinking either. He shifted uncomfortably, thankful for the dim lighting in the bar so no one could see the raging boner he had.

Merle chose that moment to walk up to him. "Woo-wee, baby brother, you've got one hell of a hottie on your hands." He drawled in his annoying way and Daryl rolled his eyes but he never took his eyes off Beth, not for a second. He was enchanted.

She danced her way over to him and crooked her finger at him, sashaying her hips as she walked and he smirked, couldn't help himself. Good god, she was sexy as fuck. And she didn't even know it. Maybe he could just let her dance herself sober. That might work; she could get rid of most of the alcohol in her system. The only problem was what it was going to do to him. He knew he was going home with blue balls tonight because he knew nothing would happen between the two of them. He wouldn't let it. She was a virgin, for God's sake, a virgin to, well every damn thing, he thought, groaning again.

He wanted her, he definitely did. But he had more decency than that. He may have been raised by his no good Daddy and grew up with the horrible influence and guidance of Merle, fucking every girl he came across, but that was kind of the point. He wanted to be the opposite of them. He was raised in the South and while his no good Daddy would say to go for it and Merle would too, something of his mother remained with him and his moral compass pointed north on the sex front. He knew anything other than above the board would not do for him and his conscience.

So he let her pull him onto the dance floor, groaning because he could not dance for shit but he was helpless to her guile, whether she knew she had it or not. Yeah it was going to be an interesting night. Since this beautiful girl had walked into his life, his world had been turned upside down. He was doing things he'd never done before. Feeling things he'd never felt and though he didn't know what tomorrow held, he was willing to find out. Because if it made him feel like he did right now, he could do it. With her by his side, he could do anything.

**Okay, whew, that was a long one. And hella hard to break that kiss. I wanted them to go further but they were in a parking lot after all. Hope you liked it and hope it came out half way decent like it played in my head until I got it on paper. The songs in this story were "Porn Star Dancing" by Darkest Days and "Changed by You" by Between the Trees. The last one speaks to me as a Bethyl song and the first one, well that speaks for itself. ;) Y'all know what to do. Read, review, etc. You know why? Because you are the BEST damn readers a gal could ask for. You are amazing to me. This story has gotten such great reviews and so many favorites and follows. It's like crack to me, those reviews and stuff and thangs. It means so much to me! I am getting around finally to replies on reviews. Thank you thank you thank from the bottom of my heart guys! Until next time, xoxoxoxo **

**Oh and btw, I have a Normily fic I'm recc'ing Forbidden Kiss" by Normily2014. If you ship them, you should read it. That's all I'm gonna say. ;) **


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Daryl held Beth's hair back as she bent over in the gravel, her stomach heaving up everything she had put in it the past several hours. His heart broke for her as she moaned between retching.

"Here, try this," Maggie said softly from beside him and he used his free hand, the one that had been stroking her lower back as she got sick, to place the cool cloth Maggie had obtained from inside the bar. He and Beth had been dancing, a slow song having been played, and her head had been pressed against his chest when she suddenly looked up at him and he had known the look. Had seen it all too often, hell he'd felt it all too often after a bender.

"Better get her outside, Dixon," Glenn had said. "She looks like she could use some fresh air and a lot less beer." They had all chuckled at that until Maggie had slapped her head against her forehead.

"I can't believe I am so stupid. She's not supposed to be drinking. At all." Glenn had looked at her strangely and she had to keep her mouth shut until they got outside and then she had told Daryl.

"She can't have alcohol not for the first several days after transitioning. It's too much for their systems," she had whispered furiously. "I can't believe this. Even after they transition, even years later, they can't drink much. She's going to be feeling pretty rough for a couple days Daryl. Daddy is gonna kill me," she exclaimed, pacing back and forth in the parking lot.

He had brought Beth outside where she had promptly bent over at the waist and vomited, leaving Daryl to hold her up with one hand so she didn't fall on her face while simultaneously holding her hair back so she didn't get any of the vile stomach contents on it. It didn't seem like she was ever going to stop.

"God, Maggie, what the hell did she eat tonight?" Daryl said as he pressed the cool cloth to her neck now.

"A lot of ice cream?" Maggie looked at him sheepishly over Beth's head.

Beth stood up and leaned against Daryl weakly. "Stop talking about me like I'm not here, please". She said, her voice gruff from being sick.

"God, I'm so sorry Beth. I forgot. You're not supposed to drink," Beth looked over at Maggie, smiling weakly.

"It's okay Maggie," Beth slurred her words, the alcohol clearly not all the way out of her system.

"How long is she gonna be like this?" Daryl whispered to Maggie.

"A couple days probably," Maggie said, wrinkling her nose, "think you can keep her at your place? I'll tell Daddy that we're staying at Lacey's tonight." Maggie looked to Glenn and smiled sweetly at him. "Mind if I stay at your place?"

Glenn stammered for a minute and finally answered, "Sure, you can stay." Then he had looked at Daryl and Daryl just chuckled and shrugged his shoulders at him. He'd seen the looks Maggie had been sending Glenn. She'd been flirting with the boy for damn near 6 months. Daryl laughed to himself a bit thinking that the guy was not going to know what hit him or maybe he did judging by the star-struck look he had in his eyes.

After they had all decided on a plan and they had helped him load Beth into the truck, they had all taken off for their own places. Merle had left long ago and Daryl was glad that Gareth had not shown his face again that night.

Daryl glanced down at Beth, now asleep on his shoulder as he drove through the wee hours of the morning to his place. They had closed the bar down and it was hard to believe everything that happened in less than 24 hours. She had passed out right in the middle of talking almost as soon as they pulled out onto the road. He had always thought that angels were supposed to be quiet, observant souls but this girl could really talk. He chuckled to himself as he realized that actually she never shut up. All his preconceived notions of heavenly beings went right out the window, all because of this girl beside him.

His thoughts, he realized, were constantly at war with one another. There was the part of him that knew his past was shady and he was too damaged to have anything to offer anyone. Then there was the part that didn't see anything but Beth. The part that said to hell with his past and all the shit that he had done. He didn't know which part was winning the war right now because he was completely exhausted with the events of the past couple of days and all he wanted to do was to fall into the bed and sleep. He groaned. She was going to be staying with him and he had no idea what to do with her. He had never taken care of anyone before. Besides his mama that was. Whenever his old man had been on a bender, he took to hitting her and Daryl always took care of her the next day, while his old man lay passed out wherever he fell.

But this was different and he knew it. Maggie had said it would take her a couple of days to work the alcohol from her system. A couple of days of him figuring out his feelings while he took care of her. Even though he was uncertain of what the future held for them, he was taking this step. Taking it on blind faith and a hope that he would come out the other side relatively unscathed.

He pulled into the driveway of his house and as he opened the door to the truck, he gently slid her from his shoulder and hoped she would stay upright while he got her out from the other side. He jogged up the sidewalk and quickly unlocked his door, leaving the door open just slightly as he went to get her from the cab of the truck.

"Come'on, Princess," he whispered as he pulled her towards him gently, hoping the jarring motion didn't make her sick at her stomach again, although it was hard to imagine she had anything left in there. He had never seen someone throw up as much as she had on that parking lot.

He scooped her into his arms and she automatically looped her arms up around his neck as her legs draped over his arms. He closed the door to his truck with his backside and walked up the sidewalk, holding her to his chest and nudging the front door open with his foot. As he crossed the threshold and closed the door back with toe of his boot, he had the absurd thought that he was carrying her the way a groom carried his bride. His face flushed, and for who, he didn't know. It was only him and this slip of a girl in his arms. For a moment, he pretended it was true as he carried through the next threshold into his bedroom and then the thought that he was carrying her to their marriage bed almost made him drop her.

He never knew that he could feel like this. That these thoughts could cause him to make grand gestures like he had been doing them his whole life. But the truth was, he had never felt anything like this. He had never been like this with anyone. But kissing her hand like some chivalrous fool, holding her hair back as she threw up, carrying her across the threshold like some nervous young husband, it all felt so completely natural with her. He would be lying if he didn't say it scared him a little.

He eased her down onto the bed, his thoughts again warring with one another. Her body slid to the bed, her lithe form curving into the mattress and she curled into the pillow as if she was at home, like she had been sleeping in his bed for years. He stood back and watched her for a moment. She was the picture of ethereal beauty and he fought the urge to just move in behind her and hold her to his chest, his arms draped around her and never let her go. She looked so fragile lying there, hair fanned out against his pillow and he thought his fantasy was nothing compared to reality looking at the way the flaxen silk of her hair was contrasted against the dark wine-colored pillow case.

She shifted slightly in her sleep and he realized she couldn't move her legs much thanks to the impossibly short skirt she was wearing. Where did women even find these things? He realized then that it must be Maggie's. He was willing to bet that recently fallen angels didn't come with their own wardrobe. Fallen angel? Is that what she was? He didn't think that title fit her at all, because she didn't look fallen to him. Beth was like an enigma, something he couldn't adequately describe, the light and hope coming off her. She wasn't fallen and she didn't have her feet firmly planted on the ground either and he liked that about her. He felt she was like something suspended in mid air, something like a spinning prism, it's spectrums of light refracted in a million places like the thoughts he was having, scattered and projected onto the walls of his heart making him think impossible things. Want impossible things.

He was a simple man. He went to work every day, whether he wanted to or not because he knew the alternative was to slip back into the bad habits from before. Merle may indulge every now and again, but Daryl didn't want to fall back into that abyss. He refused and now that this angel was in his life, maybe he didn't have to worry about it anymore. Maybe she could keep him from the temptation.

Then again, she tempted him in ways he had never explored. Tempted him to think that he could have something more than this fleeting existence, one day blending into the next without any real meaning. Tempted him to think that he could have something that lasted. Something with her.

She shifted again and he knew he was going to have to change her out of those clothes if she was to get any rest at all. His face flushed, thinking how he was going to have to undress her and put her in something of his. Goddammit, this was not what he had signed up for. Because how was he supposed to change her out of those clothes and not look at her at the same time. Not feel like the pervert he knew he was right now for thinking the thoughts he was having.

This was not the same as taking care of his Mama. Not even remotely the same and he sighed as he walked over to his dresser to retrieve one of his button up flannels and a pair of sweatpants. He held out the pants and it actually brought a grin to his face thinking of how the pants would swallow her whole. He would just put her in the shirt and she could change into something else when she woke up.

He walked over to the bed, fingering the soft flannel, the fibers of it snagging on the roughness of his fingertips. He laid it down on the bed beside her and set about the task of getting her more comfortable for sleep. He tried nudging her gently awake because it would certainly be easier to dress her if he had a little cooperation, but she was not budging. He sighed again, taking the hem of her shirt and easing it upward, trying not to look at how creamy the tops of her breasts were as he slid it all the way up, bunched around her neck. Tried not to think about how the slip of skin at her shoulders felt so soft under his rough palms. Tried like hell not to think about how perfectly round her breasts were and how they were jutting up perfectly from beneath a white lacy bra. He finally slipped it up over her head and she fell back onto the bed and he eased her into the flannel shirt and she sighed. He buttoned up the first three buttons and moved his hand down her perfectly flat tummy to the button of her denim skirt. He decided the only way to do it was swiftly and he unzipped the skirt, looking up at her as he did so, half afraid that she would wake up while he was doing it and half hoping she would. It was the oddest thing to constantly have these thoughts of different veins running alongside one another in his head.

He hooked his thumbs inside the waistband of her skirt, sliding it down over her hips and legs and was horrified to realize that the white lacy panties that matched her bra didn't leave much to the imagination. He averted his eyes as he finished sliding the skirt from her and paused for a moment to remove the strappy sandals she was wearing and depositing it all at the end of the bed. He stood up and retrieved the quilt and just as he was about to place the quilt over her, she rolled over. He was horrified to realize that she was wearing thongs and his eyes were helpless to do anything but rest on the most perfect ass he had ever seen. He hurriedly placed the quilt on her and tucked it up around her shoulders, forcing his thoughts to baseball and grandmothers and puppies, anything to tamp down the unmistakable desire he was feeling.

He turned from the room finally, feeling like he had just been to battle and he guessed he had. His head hurt from everything that had happened the past couple days. He trudged to the guest bedroom, not bothering to flip on any lights and quickly undressed down to his boxers before slipping between the covers, the cool of the sheets welcoming and though he was exhausted, sleep did not immediately come. He leaned down and retrieved his phone from his pants pocket, glancing through the photos Beth had insisted he take. He smiled at the one of her sticking her tongue out at him, flipping to the one of her holding up her beer and her head tilted to the side, the one of her dancing with Maggie, her eyes seductively lowered at the camera lens. Of him and her together, her face pressed up against his, her smile drunken, but endearingly so. Then there was the one Maggie had taken when she had grabbed the phone from his hands and Beth had pulled her to him and he had gotten lost in the moment, looking down at her and the photo had captured the moment his eyes were closed and hers were too and her lips were pressed softly to his. It was hard to believe that the man in the photo was him. Hard to believe the angel he was kissing in the photo was her. As he finally fell asleep, his phone still opened to that photo and pressed to his chest, he knew he would dream of her. In reality she was in the next room, but in his mind, she was right next to him. chasing down his dreams.

* * *

Beth awoke some time in the very early morning and realized she was alone and in an unfamiliar place. She had fallen asleep for the first time as a mortal and she had missed the whole thing because she had too much to drink. She realized she must be at Daryl's house, but where was he. She slipped from the bed and blushed as she realized she was wearing one of his shirts. Unless she missed her guess, he had put her in it and the thought of him undressing her did all kinds of things to her insides.

She wandered down the hall and entered the room that had light snores coming from it. She stood in the doorway a little uncertain at first and decided that since he was asleep he couldn't very well argue with her because she didn't want to be alone. She felt disoriented and dizzy and she staggered to the bed where he lay, lifting the covers and slipping in beside him. She sighed as she realized she might still be a little drunk.

She looked at the man sleeping there, his head laying on the pillow, eyes closed and she realized that he looked so much younger and freer in sleep. She reached her hand out and smoothed a couple of strands off his forehead, then moving her hand over his face, feeling the rough stubble tickle her palm. She moved her hand down to his shoulders, so broad and the skin soft there though the planes of his muscles were anything but soft. She traced a line down his arms and felt him stir under her and she kept her fingers still.

He opened his eyes and blinked at her. She had been caught and she didn't care. She smiled at him softly, knowing she probably was still a little tipsy.

"What are you doing in here," he asked her gruffly and glancing down at where her hand was, her fingers tracing curious circles on his arm.

"I woke up alone. I don't want to be alone, Daryl." She whispered and bit her lower lip and Daryl groaned.

The hell of it was he had come in here so he could keep his hands and his thoughts to himself. Now here she was making damn near impossible. He looked at her, her face innocent and her soft smile won him over.

"Okay, fine, but go back ta sleep. 'M still tired. You should be too, ya know. You had way too much ta drink." He admonished her gently.

"What are you like my chaperone or something? Mr. Dixon." She said prissily and he had to bite his tongue to keep from kissing the sass right out of her mouth.

"No, but I will be if you don't show some good sense when it comes to drinkin' again." He looked at her trying to be stern and reasonable and knew he was failing when she looked up at him saucily, her hair fanned out on the pillow above her head and grinned up at him.

"Guess we'll just have to see about that huh?" She smiled up at him prettily and he fought the urge, again, to kiss her but he wasn't going to touch her as long as he knew there was any more alcohol in her system. He couldn't have her doing something she was sure to regret later. Something they may both regret.

"Yeah, uh-huh, just go ta sleep, girl." He whispered, his voice gravelly from utter lack of sleep.

"Your girl." She murmured as she snuggled closer to him and curled one hand around his arm as she did so.

"What?" he whispered into the top of her hair.

Beth leaned back. He thought she didn't remember but she did. She remembered how he had said she was his girl back at the bar. And she wasn't going to let him forget it or take it back. She was going to hold onto whatever she could drag out of him because it was hard enough to do so. She looked into his eyes, the deep cerulean pools reflecting the early morning light streaming through the blinds.

"You said I was your girl." She smiled at him shyly.

Daryl sighed. "Yeah, I did say that didn't I." He looked down at her, her face expectant like she was waiting for him to say something else.

She just nodded. Was she his girl? He couldn't think of anything else to describe her. Defining what they were was not something he was prepared to do just yet, but the statement was absolutely true. He wanted her, wanted her in all the ways there was to want a girl. He wanted her by his side no matter what. Wanted to hold her and hug her and kiss her and hell he had just held her hair back while she puked a couple hours ago. His girl. Yeah, that's exactly what she was.

"Yeah, Princess, you're my girl," he murmured as he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. It was hard for him putting himself out there. Hard to put into words how he felt, always had been. He was a Dixon after all.

"Good, because that's what I want to be. Yours." She whispered as she looked into his eyes. She smiled at him softly and he was gone.

He pulled her closer, "And you are," he whispered into her hair and he felt her relax and her breathing even out. She had fallen back asleep, right in his arms, right where she belonged.

And right before he closed his eyes he whispered one more thing, into the air, just so he could hear it out loud instead of tumbling about inside his head. "And I'm yours." He thought as he closed his eyes, he heard her sigh and he sighed too. It was true. He was all hers. Beth's. And it felt so right.

**Hope you liked this update guys! It's so hard to get what plays in my head to come out on paper with any real clarity like it should. So let me know if I came close to getting this right. This story is just hella fun to write. So let me know how you liked this latest installment. So sorry it's taking me so long to get to this story and my others. I seem to be the lucky recipient of mono! Yuck. Words can't describe how awful I have felt lately, sleep usually winning out on the writing front. I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for all the follows, favorites and reviews this story has received. It's amazing to me, still, that anyone wants to read the drabble that plays around in my head. This pairing has truly stolen my heart and I can't wait for the great reunion! So thanks again, thanks for reading and for all you do to make this experience worthwhile! Until next time, loves, xoxoxoxoxo **


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Daryl awoke sometime around noon feeling extremely aroused and it took him a moment to realize two things. The first was that he had an awful case of morning wood. Sure he had it most mornings but this morning was particularly bad. The second thing he noted was the culprit of his throbbing hard-on was the sweet little ass pressed up against his crotch. He groaned inwardly and tried to think of a way to roll away from her without waking her up. One arm was trapped beneath her head against the pillow and he couldn't feel the fingers on that hand. The other was snaked around her waist. He could feel her steady rhythmic breathing telling him that she was still asleep.

He stayed still for a moment relishing the feel of her skin beneath his fingers, warm, inviting, and so soft, he moaned inwardly. He removed his hand from her waist and she stirred slightly. He exhaled softly and realized his mistake instantly, his breath moving the hairs on the back of her neck. She stretched and he took that opportunity to remove his arm from behind her head, flexing his fingers to restore some of the circulation. Who knew her head could weigh that much, he thought. She stretched again, cat-like, arching her back and he couldn't help but notice the way her breasts strained against the material of his shirt. And that was another thing, something about seeing her waking up in his shirt had him thinking all kinds of things. Things that weren't proper. Things that he had no business thinking about.

She turned over and faced him and he was thankful he could scoot his lower half away from her so she hopefully wouldn't notice.

Beth finally opened her eyes afer lying in the bed for a few seconds after the first tendrils of consciousness seeped into her brain. She was pretty sure she wasn't dead because her head hurt too badly for that. But this groggy, eyes-burning, dry throat, body aching feeling she was having didn't quite feel alive either. She could feel Daryl's hand on her waist and his fingers felt warm, coarse and she felt an odd sensation in her pelvic area at the feeling.

She groaned as she finally opened her eyes, squinting against the bright light coming through the window. If swallowing felt like sandpaper sliding down the back of her throat, the light hitting her sleep-deprived eyes felt like shards of glass piercing her consciousness.

"Good morning," she whispered, surprised at the huskiness of her voice. She looked at Daryl and realized he was looking at her very intently. She must look a mess. She suddenly was aware of the fact that she was not wearing the same clothing she went out in. Which meant only one thing. She skimmed her hand down her front, feeling the soft cloth of a shirt that was not hers.

"G'morning," he answered back, looking at her and smiling, just the corners of his mouth upturned.

"What happened last night?" She groaned and tried not to draw attention to the fact that she was nervous. She was in bed with Daryl and they had just shared some pretty intimate space and she was very scantily clad. Still, he was being the perfect gentleman. Was this man a saint?

She sat up slowly holding her hand to her head because she felt like, if she didn't, all the contents would come spilling out.

Daryl rubbed the sleep from his eyes and propped himself up on the pillows to gaze at her. Her hair was sleep-mussed, her face had lines etched into it from being pressed into the pillow and she had never looked more beautiful to him.

"You had a little too much to drink," He said.

"Yeah I gather that. So I have a hangover I guess?" It was a question and the way she was wrinkling her nose up, it made him want to lean over and kiss her. The way he felt about her kept getting in the way of clear-headed thinking.

He chuckled low. "Yeah you could say that."

She reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her head and he had to fight the urge to help her out, knowing how her hair felt in his fingers. "Umm" she faltered, "where is the bathroom?" She looked at him shyly.

"Go out to the hallway and it's the first door on your left going back towards the kitchen." He watched as she gingerly got up from the bed and glimpsed just a bit of her perfectly shaped ass before the shirt slid back into place, covering her all the way down to mid thigh. He felt his dick twitch in his pants and thought of all the things he wanted to do to her. _God, Dixon, get a fuckin' grip man. _

She walked back in the room a few minutes later, all sweet shy smiles and he noticed that her face looked like it had some color coming back into it and she must have fixed her hair. It was tumbling about her shoulders, the curls from last night sprung back into place. His eyes followed her as she walked back to the bed, sitting down uncertainly beside him.

"Daryl, I'm starting to remember a few things from last night." She began, "Please tell me I didn't do anything too awfully stupid." She looked at him, a pained expression in her face.

"I can tell you that I was beside you the whole night. You didn't do anythin' stupid Princess." He said, retrieving his phone from the nightstand. "Do you want to see some of the pictures? We can delete anything you want." He said as he slid the bar to wake his phone up, quickly going to his photo gallery.

"Oh my, you have pictures?" Beth's forehead was etched in worry.

Daryl chuckled. "Don't worry. I told ya. We can delete what you don't wanna keep." He said and she settled herself against the headboard beside him and looked over his shoulder as the pictures came to life.

Beth groaned at the first one, her and Maggie, dancing out on the dance floor. The picture was a little grainy from the dim lighting in the bar, but not so blurred that she couldn't see how she was dancing with Maggie, her skirt barely covering anything as she crouched low to the floor in the next picture. He clicked on the next one and a video started playing.

"Come on Daryl, come dance with me?" Beth heard her own voice slurred and higher pitched and she cringed.

"Oh god, why did I drink so much?" she said out loud watching the video.

She watched in horror as she sashayed around the dance floor, following Maggie's lead and they swished their hips and although you couldn't make out the words, Beth thought she remembered the song. SOmething about porn stars. Her face was red, she could feel it.

"Uhm, want me to delete this?" Daryl was mesmerized watching it, feeling like he was standing back in that bar again, Merle standing over his shoulder. He didn't know how he had missed it last night and he sure didn't remember videoing her. He slapped his hand to his forehead.

"Fuckin' Merle!" he exclaimed as the video played on.

"What's wrong with Merle?" Beth looked at him, confused.

"Everything's wrong with Merle. I handed him my phone when I came back in the bar, because you weren't taking no for an answer. He musta done it when I was on my way out there to meet you on the dance floor." Sure enough, the next thing you saw in the frame was Daryl's form making his way over to Beth. Maggie winked at him and slid her way off the dance floor and out of the frame of the video.

Daryl flushed as they watched, helpless to turn away and watching himself dance with her on the tiny screen of his phone, his body pressed against hers and her looking up at him. She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his and he remembered the moment just didn't think it was being recorded for their embarassment later on. Enjoyment? It was etched in his memory just as the hot imprint of her lips against his was forever branded. His lips belonged to her now. The kiss went on as they were barely even moving to the music now.

They could hear Merle cackling on the video. "There you go Darylina, that's what I'm talkin' bout." Then the video stopped.

Daryl sat the phone on the nightstand and turned his head to look at Beth to find her staring at him intently. Her mouth was parted and her chest was heaving, her breathing shallow and rapid. The video had turned her on as much as it had him and he felt a secret thrill at it.

She leaned towards him, her lips meeting his hesitantly, shyly, then she ran her tongue along his lips and he parted them willingly and groaned as he felt her tongue slip inside, dancing with his. He fisted his hand in her hair pulling her firmly against him and he laid her back on the bed, partially over her and his tongue exploring her mouth while his hand began to explore her body, their kisses more urgent, passionate, burning.

He ran his hands down her shirt, _his shirt_, and hovered right above her breast and it felt so good, he slid his hand further down, palm covering nipple and she gasped and moaned into his mouth. He swallowed her cries and kissed her deeper as his fingers skimmed lower. God, her skin was so soft and he wanted to lose himself in her. He pulled away and she mewled against him. He kissed her jawline and down to her neck, letting his tongue lave over every inch, memorizing her taste. She was sweet, slightly smoky, a bit salty and he had never tasted anything better than Beth's skin on his tongue. He looked up at her questioningly before he continued further, his hands hovering at the buttons on his shirt.

"Daryl, I," Beth couldn't find the words. Everything he was doing sent shivers of pleasure down her spine. As he cupped her breast, she thought she would die from the pleasure, his touches igniting a fire in her belly, the flames licking at her, beckoning her and she was helpless to oblige. He looked at her and his eyes asked a thousand questions and all she could do was nod.

He growled as his fingers worked at the buttons until the only thing standing between him looking at her was his hands parting the fabric of his shirt. He skimmed his hand under the shirt as he pressed kisses to her belly, dipping his tongue in her navel and feeling her arch her hips off the bed. He moved his lips over her, never losing contact even once, feeling her hands weave through his hair, gripping lightly as he moved again, his mouth hovering over her breast. Then as he made the decision to peel the top of her bra down, exposing her nipple and taking it into his mouth, suckling, lightly nipping, she gripped his hair just a bit tighter and held his face there and it incited his passion even more. He moved his way to the other breast, giving it the same attention.

Beth was mindless with reckless need, not able to think about anything other than Daryl's mouth on her skin, his tongue darting out, licking and teasing and driving her mad. She held her breath as his fingers hovered over the buttons on the shirt she was wearing and she looked down at him, suddenly terrified that he was going to stop. He was asking her a question and she nodded at him. She gasped as he freed her breast from her bra and in one movement took her nipple in his mouth. Her back arched suddenly and voluntarily off the bed. The feeling was exquisite, exhilarating, and Beth felt fresh waves of pleasure washing over her, pulsing, throbbing and that warm heaviness was back in her pelvis, settling in, a throbbing weight. She knew she was aroused. She'd been around for millenia for goodness sake. But reading about it, watching it unfold, knowing about it was not the same thing as experiencing it. Not by a long shot.

She groaned as Daryl took her other nipple in his mouth and she felt his fingers skimming lower and lower until his fingers hovered at the top of the waistband of her panties. Her hips lifted instinctively off the bed and he skimmed his fingers lower still, cupping her sex in his palm and she could feel the moisture gathering there.

Daryl groaned as he reached the apex of her thighs and the slip of fabric that stood between it and his fingers. He cupped her, feeling the moisture and groaned again. She was wet already and he had barely touched her. Her legs dropped open slightly under his hand.

He traced his finger along the fabric of her panties, Beth moaning and fisting his hair, sliding his finger lower and he could feel her ass cheeks in the thong. It would be so easy to slip his finger to the side and let it explore her moist folds and he was insanely curious about how she would smell, how she would taste. His mouth watered and his cock was a throbbing, aching entity all its own.

Somewhere in his consciousness he heard knocking and a soft voice calling out. Beth must have heard it too because she looked down from where he was hovered at her belly, pressing kisses just above the waistband of her panties.

He groaned, pulling himself away and running his hands through his hair. "Someone's at the door." And then the knocking stopped.

He got up from the bed. "Don't move." He instructed Beth and then smirked at her as he walked out to the door, grabbing his shirt from the chair by the door, donning it quickly, very aware of his huge erection and hoping he wasn't really going to have to open the door.

Beth watched as Daryl left the room to answer the door and put her fingers to her lips and laid back against the bed. Daryl kissing her, his lips on her had her heady, breathing heavy. She didn't know whether to be mad about the interruption or thank her lucky stars for it.

As he came back into the room carrying a bag, she couldn't help but notice the evidence of his desire, threatening to come out of the top of his boxers. She felt aroused all over again.

Daryl sat the bag down on the bed beside her and handed her a piece of paper. She read it.

_You must still be sleeping. Call me when you wake up. Here's some things to tide you over til we go back to Daddy's. He knows you're okay and thinks we are at Lacey's house. Sorry again about last night. Love, Maggie _

Beth peeked in the duffel she had brought her and noticed it was a lot of stuff from Target. Shorts, shirts, underwear and a couple of bras along with a toothbrush and hairbrush and a couple of scrunchies. Beth didn't waste any time in pulling the scrunchy from the bag and pulled her hair up behind her head, securing it quickly, glad to have the mess off her neck.

"Daryl?" She looked at him uncertainly and noted that he had been watching her.

"Yeah?" He scooted closer to her.

"Is it supposed to feel that good? Because I've never -", she didn't finish what she was saying.

Daryl fought the urge to slap his hand to his forehead. How could he be so fucking stupid. Of course she had never done anything like it before. She was a damn angel for fuck's sake. Or had been. She was a virgin. In fact, she was the biggest virgin he would ever likely know.

"Shit, Beth, 'M sorry. I lost my head. Forgot all about the fact that you ain't done none of this afore." He said as he looked at her apologetically. He felt like the biggest idiot in the whole state of Georgia.

"Yeah, I forgot for a little while too," Her voice was low but she was shooting him that smile that could light up a city.

He looked at her, impossibly sexy and beautiful and his shirt was still parted slightly revealing wide expanses of skin and just the crest of each breast. She had a freckle between her breasts and he found he wanted to kiss it but knew it wasn't the right time. He sighed.

"Guess we need to be a little more careful. Take things slow?" He hated saying the words but there was no way he was going to take this girl's virginity until she was absolutely sure that was what she wanted. That it was him she really wanted.

"I don't want to take things slow, but I guess I better get my bearings. Look what happened last night when I drank too much." They both laughed at that.

"Princess, we don't have to do anything you don't wanna do. I ain't goin' anywhere." He said softly and she settled back against him, pressing her head to his chest, stifling a yawn.

"I'm tired again but I just woke up. This is so frustrating." She said softly, her voice starting to sound far away.

"Take a nap. I'll go fix you something to eat and wake you up when it's ready. Maggie said it'd be like this for a couple of days." He got up from the bed and pulled on a pair of jeans.

"Daryl?" Her voice was a whisper.

He walked back over to the bed and leaned down to press his lips to hers briefly. "Yes, Princess?"

"Thank you for taking care of me." She said it so softly that if he wasn't leaned all the way down over her, her words would have been lost to him.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," He replied and kissing her forehead, he stood back up and walked into the kitchen, running a hand through his hair. He was glad today was Sunday. He wouldn't have been able to leave her here while he went to work. He'd have to think of something by tomorrow morning because there was no way he was leaving her alone. In fact, Daryl was having a hard time processing ever being without her.

As he went about fixing her something to eat, his mind frantically searched for all the reasons why he would feel this way. Why he would want her near. Why he had to be close to her. Wanted her the way he did. Why he couldn't think of even tomorrow without her beside him, let alone the day after that.

He could only come up with one reason and it scared the hell out of him like nothing else in his life ever had. He loved her. Now that he knew it, what the hell was he supposed to do about it?

**Hi guys, thank you so much for being so patient waiting on this update. I hope that it lived up to your expectations. I am so so so happy with all the reviews, favorites and follows this story has received. And if that's not enough my friend over on Tumblr somewherewedontknow made a gorgeous photoset for this story and I will forever be grateful and fangirling over it because it's beautiful! You should totally go check out her blog. It's awesome. Thanks again girl! **

**Because of you guys, this story has gained popularity and so I guess you must be doing something right. So do your thang and until next time, xoxoxoxoxoxo **

**PS - Please excuse any missed typos. I got a new laptop since my cat killed my other one by knocking over a drink on it. And my word is not loading properly so I am typing in stinking wordpad. I try to catch them all but I know I've probably missed something in my hurry to get this chapter out to you guys. :) **

**If you haven't done so yet, check out my newest Bethyl AU, A Shady Affair. It's gained a bit of popularity and I'm told it was even found to be circulating twitter. Which makes me nervous because I still can't figure why ppl want to read my stuff! lol So anyways, check it out. It's a little different but that's what I love about AUs. You can make it as different as you want. :) **


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

_She was standing on the roadside, waiting for something. What it was, she didn't know. She just knew that she was shaking and nervous, like something bad was about to happen. She had a terrible feeling of dread wash over her and she felt sick to her stomach. She saw the approaching lights around the curve. She somehow ended up standing in the middle of the road and watched helplessly as the motorcycle came careening around the bend and took the curve too fast, spinning out of control and flipping end over end, tossing its driver into the ditch by the road. Everything after that happened in slow motion. She walked over to the man lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood trying to absorb what had just happened. The man was staring up at the sky and it was then that Beth realized that he was dead. Daryl was dead. _

Beth sat up in the bed, her heart pounding out of her chest and she began to cry. Tears streaming down her face, sobs wracked her entire body. She had lost him but she didn't know why. She had thought she had prevented the accident. She thought she had saved him, but she was wrong. She could not fathom a world without him in it. She couldn't imagine him not kissing her again, not holding her again. Her chest hurt so badly she couldn't breathe and she was certain that her very heart was breaking and she would never be the same again.

Daryl heard gut-wrenching sobs from where he was in the living room flipping through channels, finding absolutely nothing on television. He couldn't imagine what had her so upset but he went running into the other room. She was sitting up in the middle of the bed, tears streaming down her face and she was crying so hard he wasn't sure she was breathing properly.

Crying females had never been his penchant and he didn't figure this one was going to be any different. What he wasn't prepared for was the sight of her crying tugging every single string on his heart until it ached. He rushed to the bed and sat down beside her.

"What's wrong Beth? Are you sick?" He looked at her and he knew he must look like a deer caught in headlights. He couldn't figure what was wrong with her and she was completely unintelligible as she clutched at his shirt as she clung to him as if her life depended on it. She leaned her head on his chest and continued to cry and Daryl put his arms tentatively around her, wondering what in the hell was going on. He pulled his phone from his back pocket and dialed Maggie's number. She answered on the second ring.

"Hey Daryl. Everything okay?" Maggie asked and she sounded a little out of breath.

"Not really. She's crying and I can't understand her." Daryl tried to keep the panic out of his voice but he pretty much figured he was failing miserably judging by Maggie's response.

"Dixon, you better not have done anythin' to make her cry." She said, trying to keep her tone even.

"I didn't, I swear!," he said as Beth continued to sob into his chest, leaving wet places where her face rested. He didn't care. He just wanted her to stop crying.

"What were you all doing right before she started crying?" Maggie asked.

That made sense, thought Daryl and then he wanted to kick himself. It seemed to be the dipshit response he was having more and more often here lately where Beth was concerned. He thought maybe he'd better read up on transitioning angels so he could figure out what to do, what not to do, and how to recognize when a former angel was having a painful human experience.

"Never mind Maggie, I think I know what it is." He almost smirked into the phone. "She had a dream. She had just woken up." He pulled back a little to look at Beth.

"Is that what this is all about?" He asked her gently, putting a finger under her chin, tilting her face up to look at him.

Beth nodded at him miserably as she continued to cry. Daryl had never seen such sadness in her eyes. Hell, in _anyone's_ eyes.

"What do I do, Maggie?" Daryl pulled Beth back against his chest. He had not one fucking clue about how to comfort a sad woman.

Maggie still sounding out of breath and now a little impatient now that the "crisis" was over, finally replied. "That's easy. She just needs something to make her feel better. Get some take out and rent a pay-per-view movie. Something cute. Something romantic." She said, emphasizing the last word and Daryl knew that was specifically for his benefit.

Daryl groaned. "A chick flick?" he complained. This was not how he had planned on spending his evening. Then again, he figured all his plans went out the window when he got involved with Beth. He wasn't complaining. It just was _so_.

"Yes, something really romantic. Do you have Genesis Cable?" Maggie asked him.

"Yeah, why?" Daryl was hesitant to ask many more questions lest he end up spending the evening painting Beth's toenails or braiding her hair or some other girly shit.

"Go to channel 423. It has all the good romantic ones. Just pick any of them. She's never seen anything so she'll love whatever you pick."

"Okay, thanks Maggie," Daryl hung up and put his phone on the bed. This shouldn't be too bad, right? All he had to do was get her to stop crying and follow Maggie's instructions.

"You okay, Princess?" He crooned as her sobs finally started to subside into pitiful hiccups. She finally pulled away from his chest and looked up at him.

What he saw there nearly wrecked him. Blonde hair, messy from sleeping again, cheeks stained with tears, her eyes pale and watery and looking right at him. "You wanna tell me what your dream was about?" He whispered encouragingly.

Beth nodded. "It was awful. I have heard of these dreams before. Nightmares I guess. But I never knew how bad it could be." She started crying again and he reached up and wiped her tears away but they seemed to be falling faster than he could catch them. It was a hell of a thing, to want to help someone but helpless to do so.

"Yeah I used to get them once in a while." He said, the tiny white lie sliding off his tongue and tasting bitter. He got them all the time now. He had always had nightmares. He couldn't remember a time when he didn't. "I still do sometimes," He amended, hoping she didn't ask what his were about, but he was willing to bet she could guess, given all that he had told her. It still amazed him that he had spilled the details about his childhood so easily to her, something he had never done with anyone before.

She sniffed back her tears as she used her sleeve, his sleeve, to wipe the rest of them and the ensuing snot from all that crying from her face. His heart ached for her then and she was so beautiful he was nearly speechless.

Beth looked at Daryl as she spoke and told him of the dream. She told him how she'd been helpless to do anything, the opposite of how it had happened in reality. She told him how she felt when she realized he had died. She started crying again then, the thought of it threatening to overwhelm her again. She wiped furiously at the tears wanting to get the rest of the story out. "Why did it end differently in my dream than it did in real life?" Beth asked, her face a mask of anguish. At some point during the story, she had reached for his hand and their fingers were linked. He gave his fingers a slight flex, squeezing her hand before he answered her.

"I guess it's something the mind does. It takes the things we are 'fraid of the most and builds on it. Of course, sometimes it's the other way around. It takes the things we love and creates scenarios." God, Daryl, you sound like the biggest fucking idiot. A week ago he was sitting at home, drinking a beer and watching The Fast and The Furious. Here he was a week later, comforting this perfect angel and spouting some psychobabble. He knew she hated for him to refer to her as that, but he couldn't help it. Even if he didn't know she was an angel he'd want to call her that. She was the epitome of a heavenly being in his book, with her ethereal beauty and otherworldly personality.

Beth nodded and smiled a little. Daryl heaved a sigh of relief. He had been starting to worry that he would never see that million watt smile again, but there it was making him smile in return. Her smiles were contagious that way. Hell, everything about Beth was like that. She was kind of like a drug, he decided. And if that was the case, he was definitely addicted.

"So what did Maggie say?" She asked him, but not letting his hand go.

Daryl's brow creased then. "She says I gotta order us take-out and watch a movie." He said.

"Oh?" She asked. Now she was curious. She trusted Maggie's judgment. She wondered what she and Glenn were doing then thought better of it. It was probably better that she didn't know what they were doing.

"Yep. The only problem with that plan is there is no take out place that delivers way out here." He said.

Beth chuckled a bit at that. It was one of the most remote places in the county probably, besides the Greene farm. "Didn't you say you made something?" She had thought that Daryl had said he would make something for them to eat when she woke up from her nap. "What time is it?" She asked.

He laughed then, "It's almost 5 pm." He smiled at her incredulous look. "Lunch has long past," he teased.

"I slept the whole day away." She complained. She still couldn't get over how tired she was. She moved her hand up to her hair and frowned. "I really need a shower." She mused.

Suddenly, just with her words Daryl's train of thought changed course. His mouth went dry at the thought of her in his shower, naked. Of course she'll be naked you dumb shit. Still the thought of her stripped down to nothing, the water sliding over her body, glistening and wet, had him thinking things he knew weren't a good idea, especially if they were taking things slow now. Why was it he had suggested that again? He must be out of his mind. Suggesting to take things slow when the very thing he wanted to do was lay her down on this bed and make love to her all night. Love. Yes, he knew that's what it was. It was the only thing that could explain how he was feeling. How he just could sit here all day talking to her, holding her hand like nothing else mattered. Daryl thought about that for a minute. Nothing else did matter really. Merle was god knew where at the moment. His father was gone. Everything he wanted and everything he needed were wrapped up in this one person. He looked her over then. "You're so damn beautiful, Beth." He had to say it. Had to tell her, just in case she didn't know. Beth was the kind of girl that ought to be told she was beautiful and told often. He hoped he'd always be able to tell her that.

Beth blushed and snorted at his remark. "I'm a mess." She thought of what she had just said then and it reminded her of him saying that she was his mess, his girl and she got goose bumps all over again. She marveled at how mere thoughts could cause such a tremendous physical response.

Daryl sighed, thinking he'd better go find something for them to eat. "Why don't you go take that shower. I'll go find somethin' for us to eat and we can watch that movie."

Beth nodded and smiled. "Thanks Daryl and I'm sorry." She said smiling at him shyly.

"For what?" he asked looking down at her, wondering at her sudden shyness.

"For making me feel better." She said it so innocently that Daryl felt that tug again at his heart. It seemed like it should be the bigger things that made him realize how he felt about her. Instead it was these moments that were so tiny on the surface but they meant something so much deeper to him. He wondered if it was the same way for her.

Overcome with emotion he leaned his head down, capturing her lips with his, pulling her bottom lip into his mouth, suckling softly for a moment and then releasing her. ""S not a problem." He said finally before getting up to leave.

"The towels are in the closet in the bathroom. Help yourself to anythin' you need." Daryl left it at that. He decided that it would be better if he didn't know the particulars of her time in the shower.

It was making his head hurt the way his thoughts kept switching back and forth. One minute he wanted her, the next minute he wanted to wait for that part of their relationship. Add in the fact that he had no fucking idea what he was doing here and he was pretty sure that was the perfect recipe for a headache.

Some soup and grilled cheese sandwiches filling their bellies a little while later, they settled down on the sofa to watch a movie. Daryl flipped to the channel Maggie had recommended and he and Beth scrolled through the list of movies together.

Beth yawned, feeling frustrated again with her fatigue. She hoped she would be able to make it through a movie. A title of a movie caught her eye. "What about Pretty Woman? That sounds interesting."

Daryl laughed a little at that. "Nah not that one, Princess." He continued to scroll figuring that a movie about a businessman falling in love with a prostitute might not be the best way to break Beth into the world of movies.

"The Notebook", Beth said. "An old man reads a story from his notebook to a woman in a nursing home. Watch the story of the timeless tale of a forever kind of love." Beth read the description and promptly let out a little pleased whining sound. "Aww, that sounds good. Let's watch that one." She sat up straighter as if the decision had been made.

The Notebook, huh? Well it looked harmless enough. This genre wasn't exactly his cup of tea but for her, he'd watch anything. He figured if she wanted to watch nothing but static and snow on the television screen, he'd be game for that too, so long as she was sitting next to him. He turned back to the T.V. and made their selection. Beth moved to settle against him and he moved his arm to accommodate her, draping his arm over the back of her shoulder.

They watched in silence as the story unfolded. After a while, Beth started making noises every so often, just little whimpers and sighs. He guessed she was enjoying the movie and that was what mattered. He begrudgingly admitted to himself that Maggie had been right. This was just the thing that was needed to cheer Beth up a bit and take her mind off things.

"Oh!" Beth exclaimed. Daryl looked over at her to note that she had brought her hands up to her mouth and she looked like she was holding her breath.

The guy on the screen, the main character, was speaking to the woman and they were standing in the pouring down rain. They were fighting again and the rain was pelting down all around them. Suddenly the girl moves in and they are kissing like mad. The next scene they show they are in bed, completely naked. Daryl should have expected this from this type of movie but he wasn't expecting anything quite so hot, so intriguing and so very unlike anything he had ever done with anyone. They were slow and tender with one another and he felt himself heating up from the inside out, extremely aware of Beth sitting right next to him and wondering if she was having the same response.

"This is what I was missing all these years?" The girl on the screen was elated and it showed.

"Pause it!" Beth exclaimed.

Daryl reached down for the remote, clicking the button to freeze the frame. "What is it, Princess?" Maybe she had to go the bathroom, he thought, thinking about the 8th wonder of the world that was the size of women's bladders.

"What was she talking about? What had she been missing?" She looked at him, puzzled, gesturing to the television screen.

Daryl chortled a little bit then balked as he realized he was going to have to actually answer the question. He took a deep breath, hoping he could explain this the right way. "Well, it could mean a couple things. Maybe she's a virgin and she ain't had that-" He paused and flushed, wondering how in the hell he could say this without sounding like a total loser. "She may not have ever had _that_ kind of pleasure before." He was pretty pleased with how that had come out, even if his face was still flushed and she was staring him down like he held all the answers in the world. He wasn't used to this, someone looking to him for things.

"Oh", Beth's felt her face fire up red and again felt exasperated at this weird emotion called embarrassment. When they had sat down to watch a movie, she had never in a million years expected it to lead to a conversation like this. She realized she was secretly glad it did. She knew what pleasure was. She just hadn't ever seen it played out in a movie before. Hadn't really thought about it at all. Now, it seemed to be all that she could think about. "You can go ahead and play it." She remarked as she settled back against his shoulder.

They watched the remainder of the movie and when it reached the end, Daryl was insanely worried that they had picked the wrong movie because it was really sad at the end. The old couple dying in their bed together was nearly Beth's undoing and as the movie ended, he found himself looking at her apprehensively.

Beth sniffled and wiped at her tears as the credits rolled. "That was really good." She had never had such an emotional response to something before. She was happy one minute, upset the next, and then these tears came, confusing because she was so happy that it was their love story being told and they got to die together wrapped in each others' arms, a testament to their great love. She hoped when she and Daryl got old that they could go in much the same way.

The thought struck her then. Did she love Daryl? Her head was spinning with the day's activities but one thing was clear. She couldn't imagine anything differently for them than ending up together, rocking on the front porch, their grandchildren playing in the front yard. She couldn't imagine sharing those moments with anyone but him. She thought back to her dream. Beth had the thought then that if something happened to him, she didn't know what she would do, how she would keep on breathing.

"It was good. I actually liked it." It surprised him that he had liked the movie. It wouldn't have been anything he would have picked out to watch alone.

Beth sat up, still leaning against him, not wanting to move. Not wanting ever to move. She looked up at him and he looked down at her and he closed his eyes and she closed hers in anticipation turning her face up towards his.

Daryl didn't miss that hint. He'd been dying to kiss her for the past two hours. If he was really honest with himself, as soon as their lips parted from one time to the next, he was dying to kiss her again. He wasn't sure he would ever get enough of Beth's lips, how her mouth felt on his, how she tasted, and most of all how he felt when he was kissing her. He pulled apart and leaned his forehead against hers, steadying his breathing, knowing it was useless. Until she was his, completely his, he knew he'd not breathe easy. It wasn't the suffocating kind of breathlessness, this love he had for her. Instead it was the kind that took your breath away but it was instantly replaced with something else. He knew without a doubt that he was filled with love and he knew that he couldn't hold it in any longer. He pulled back and looked at her for a long moment.

"Beth, I-" He lost his nerve then, her looking up at him, and he was sucked in and lost again. Lost to control anything. Lost to himself. Lost in her. "I think I love ya." It felt so good getting it out and his breath left him all at once.

Beth looked at him in surprise. She had never thought he'd say anything like that to her. She knew how emotionally closed off he had always been. So for him to admit something like that was major. Her heart was pounding out of her chest as she rushed the words out, "Oh Daryl, I love you too." She pulled him to her, grasping the back of his head as she held onto him, never wanting to let him go.

Daryl didn't know how long they sat there on his sofa, holding onto each other, embracing the moment, embracing each other, but he knew one thing. He had thought that love was something for other people. Something to tie you down because that's what it had done to his folks. Instead he found it was something quite different and it surprised him. In falling in love with Beth, he felt something he had never felt before. He felt free.

**Whew, finally! I am so so sorry it has taken me so long to write this update. You guys know I love this story as much as you guys do. It's been crazy lately and perhaps I shouldn't have started another AU but I couldn't resist. Hope you don't mind too much. I am hoping to get back on a regular writing schedule this next week when children go back to school. Fingers are crossed. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing always even you awesome guest reviewers. So great to hear from you guys. Feel free to PM too if you want to clear anything up or just ooh and ahh over Bethyl. I am always happy to fangirl over them. Additionally, please check out my Bethyl blog on Tumblr – sassygirl42. Okay guys, I'm off to write another update. Don't know which one yet. Haha So, until next time, xoxoxoxoxo **


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Beth walked down the stairs, her nose following the delectable aroma of coffee and bacon. She was greeted by none other than Maggie. "'Mornin' sleepyhead" the brunette called out over her shoulder. She was taking the last pieces of bacon out of the frying pan and placing them on a plate.

"Morning." Said Beth, running a hand over her face. She had come back from Daryl's yesterday morning when he had to go back to work. She had seen him last night when he had come over for dinner which had been an altogether pleasant affair, just Glenn, Maggie, Hershel, Beth and Daryl. They had not talked much of the bar incident in the past couple of days simply because there had not been enough time.

Hershel came in the back door at that moment, wiping the sweat from his brow with a worn blue handkerchief. "Whew, it's a scorcher out there already," said Hershel. Senoia, Georgia was pretty deep south and July in the south was a sweltering, blistering affair. You often didn't know whether or not you wanted to wring the water out of the air or pray for a rainstorm, which was often the only respite you got from the sultry Georgia sun.

"Come sit and have some breakfast, Daddy." Maggie said, placing the heaping plate of bacon on the table next to the scratch made biscuits and scrambled eggs.

"Maggie, honey, is there someone else coming for breakfast this morning?" Hershel smiled up at his daughter, loving that she had taken a liking to cooking just like her mama. "It looks like you cooked enough for an army".

Maggie looked at Beth sweetly. "I might have called and told Daryl to stop by before he went into work."

Beth looked up in surprise. She knew she looked a wreck this morning. Daryl had stayed a little later last night; they had gone for a walk in the meadow and had then sat out on the porch talking and kissing until the wee hours. He had only gone home a few hours ago. She moved her hand up to her hair and was glad she had put it up in a loose ponytail before she had descended the steps, clad only in one of Maggie's Bon Jovi t-shirts and sleep shorts. She had taken a shower after she had come in last night and hadn't really dried her hair properly, choosing instead to go to bed with it wet.

There was a knock at the backscreen just then and Beth looked up to see Daryl standing right on the other side. Despite her misgivings about how she looked, she couldn't keep the smile off her face when she saw him.

Hershel motioned to him. "Come on in, son. We were just about to eat."

Daryl opened the door and stepped inside the Greene kitchen. It was a homey place and he had always loved stepping inside the kitchen, the myriad of scents always tantalizing. Today was no different with the heady smell of bacon permeating the whole house.

Beth looked up at him shyly as he approached the table. They had not yet gotten comfortable expressing themselves in front of other people especially after spending all weekend holed up in his apartment doing nothing more than just kissing. It was still all so new, especially for Beth. Sometimes she wished she could somehow normalize the experience. She often didn't know how much of it was new fledgling love and how much was because she was a newly transitioned angel. She thought that maybe it was an enchanting combination of both. All she knew was that she was completely in love with the man who came over and sat down next to her, awkwardly placing his hand on her shoulder and squeezing it lightly just before he sat down. She wondered if he would ever feel comfortable just walking into a room and sweeping her off her feet in a passionate embrace. For now she was content in what they had, these tentative shy touches and stolen kisses when no one was watching. The bar had been the only exception and that was only because she was so unbelievably intoxicated.

"Mornin' Princess," his voice was low right behind her ear and it sent a chill through her. She was pretty sure only she heard because his voice was but a whispered breath on the delicate skin behind her ear but when she looked up Maggie and Hershel were smiling in their direction. When Beth glanced up she saw Maggie's eyes flash to hers, a glint of mischief in them. She'd have to thank her later for inviting Daryl to breakfast.

Hershel held his hands out on either side and no one hesitated to link hands for the blessing of the meal. The night before, Daryl had a hard time figuring out what was expected of him when Hershel made that gesture but he had caught on quick and he took Hershel's hand on his right and Beth's on his left and bowed his head just as he did now.

As Hershel prayed, Daryl felt Beth's thumb softly caressing his hand and he had to fight the urge to open his eyes and sneak a peek at her. He felt the corners of his mouth twitch upward into a smile as he rubbed his thumb over her hand in response. And it was crazy how much it made his heart flutter in his chest, just holding hands with her, but it's the way it always seemed to be with her. It was dizzying and it was something he wasn't really used to but he was trying.

"Our Father, for what we are about to receive, let us be grateful. Thank you for good friends, your unconditional love and this delicious food my daughter has graciously prepared. Thank you for all your gifts. Amen." All murmured amen and all pretense was lost as everyone dug in with gusto.

Beth nibbled on a piece of bacon as she looked over at Maggie. "What are you doing today?" Maggie was a graduate student and not working at the moment so that usually meant most of her summer days were free.

"I don't know. Going to help Daddy with some of the chores. Maybe take a ride on Sparks. Why?" Maggie reached for her cup of coffee taking a tentative sip.

"Just wondering. I think I might go try to find a car. I can't keep depending on everyone for rides everywhere." Beth said, thoughtfully, sipping on her coffee.

Hershel spoke up then. "Do you know how to drive, Beth?"

Beth looked up at him in surprise. "Well I have that license. I just thought I could go find a car and that would be it."

Hershel chuckled and Daryl couldn't fight the smile playing on his own face. "You have to learn the rules of the road. Someone will have to teach you." He looked back and forth between Maggie and Daryl.

"I'll do it! We can go this afternoon," Maggie was practically bouncing in her seat.

Daryl nearly spit his coffee out at that suggestion. "No fuckin, er I mean, sorry Hershel" he apologized for the expletive and Hershel waved him off. "Ain't no way you're teachin' her Greene. Last I heard 'round town, your drivin' skills are about as good as my people skills." Daryl looked up as everyone chuckled at that.

Maggie pretended to be wounded. "That really hurts. Just because I've had three fender benders in the last year, doesn't mean I don't know how to drive. I'm actually a great driver. Just get distracted sometimes is all." She grinned at all of them, knowing when she had been bested.

Daryl drained the last of his coffee as he spoke again looking at Beth. "I'll teach you. I get off work at 6:00. Should I pick you up then?"

Beth beamed at Daryl as she continued giggling. Watching Daryl and her surrogate sister go head to head on who was going to teach her to drive was priceless. It seemed Hershel was enjoying it as well because the older man's eyes always seemed to crinkle up endearingly when he was amused at something like he was now.

"Maggie, Daryl's right honey. You should let him teach her. Beth, you okay with that?" Hershel's voice was gentle as always.

Beth nodded at him finally and turned to look at Daryl. "Sounds good to me." It gave her an idea. She would need Maggie's help but she would wait until later to ask her about it.

"Where's the coffee?" Daryl asked looking around the kitchen. "I could use another cup, it's taken me a little bit longer to wake up this morning'" He looked over at Beth, catching her gaze and winked at her.

Beth swore she could have melted then and there. Not only was he making a reference to their late night porch kissing, but he had just winked at her too. She wondered at what point in their relationship she would ever stop feeling this way. She hoped it was never because she guessed she liked that heart plummet to your stomach, beating faster so you felt like you were on a roller coaster feeling. Not that she had ever been on one, but she'd heard about it. It was an odd feeling, this thing called love.

"I'll get it." Beth jumped up and grabbed his cup from him, walking over to the coffee pot and pouring him another cup. She realized she didn't know how he took his coffee. "What do you take in it?"

"Just straight up." Daryl said, watching her as she set the coffee pot back down on the burner, his mouth having gone dry from watching her walk across the room, the wide expanse of creamy skin on her long legs that seemed to go on forever before disappearing under those tiny shorts she was wearing. God what was this woman doing to him. He felt like he had a perpetual hard-on and every time he kissed her it got more and more difficult to play it off. He forced those thoughts away and his eyes back at the table. He looked up to find Maggie watching him with an amused glint in her eyes. Damn that girl anyway. She'd probably tell Beth too, although that might not be a bad thing necessarily. Maybe Beth _should_ know exactly what she did to him.

She placed the coffee in front of him and sat back down beside him. "Okay then, that settles it, driving lesson tonight. Hershel can I help you with anything today? I know I have next to no skills but I am sure I can learn fast."

Hershel looked up in delight. She really was becoming a true Greene. Greenes never shied away from hard work and here this girl was volunteering. He decided he'd let her. "We can always use an extra hand around here. Maybe you can help Maggie with the horses this mornin'." He suggested. "If you're up for it." He looked to his daughter for confirmation and she smiled warmly at him.

"No problem Daddy." She looked at Beth then. "Better go get dressed. You can't be muckin' stalls in that get-up". She grinned cheekily at Daryl then and he fought the urge to roll his eyes at her.

Daryl reached for his plate, "I'm gonna have to head out now."

Beth reached out and stilled his movement placing her hand on his arm. "I'll get it. You go on to work, I'll see you at six." The last part was spoken in half question and half statement. She stood when he made to leave, following him to the door.

"I'll walk you out." She said, feeling Maggie's curious eyes on her as she let the screen door shut behind her as she stepped onto the porch, following Daryl, that wrapped all the way around the house. Beth had decided last night that it was her favorite part of the house.

Daryl turned back to face her one he got on the second step down to the yard where his truck was parked. Since he was taking Beth driving tonight, he was now fiercely glad he'd chosen to take it instead of the bike. She stopped on the step above him, it lending her just the right amount of height. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure they weren't being watched. It was cute how considerate she was of his physical awkwardness around anyone but her. They hadn't been many places yet and that was something Daryl was going to have to work on especially since all he seemed to want to do was touch her.

As if illustrating his point, he looped his arms lazily around her neck and drew her in for a kiss. Her lips met his without hesitation as if she had been waiting all morning for him to do it. He liked that because he'd pretty much been wanting to kiss her since he walked into the kitchen. He finally broke the kiss, and stared into her eyes for a long moment, amazed once again that she wanted to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her.

"I love you" she breathed. Beth would never get used to this incredibly dizzying sensation when she kissed him. It was so addictive that she thought she could have stood there all day on that porch step letting him kiss her senseless.

"Love ya too, Princess." He murmured, dipping his head in one last time, kissing her briefly, before finally reluctantly letting her go and walking down to his truck. "See you tonight." He winked at her again before he slid his sunglasses on and got back into his truck.

Beth watched him drive away, her arms wrapped around her waist to quell the chills she felt from his declaration as much as from the tingle she still felt in her lips. It was at least 95 degrees outside. Her chills had nothing to do with the temperature and everything to do with how she felt about one Daryl Dixon.

She walked back into the house, intent on clearing the table and getting ready to help Maggie. Hershel was nowhere in sight. "Where did your dad go?" She asked as she walked back in the kitchen.

Maggie turned to look at her over her shoulder. "He is upstairs. He's gotta go over to Otis farm. His horse is in labor and there appears to be some trouble. Probably nothin' serious." Maggie grinned at her as she approached the counter with the last of the few dishes left on the table.

"What?" Beth said, but even she couldn't stop the smile on her face. She probably wore it more often than not these days.

"Don't what me." Maggie said, bumping her hip against Beth's teasingly. "So? What is going on with you and Mr. Sexy?"

Beth laughed as Maggie wiggled her eyebrows at her. "Nothing." She said, the blush heating up her cheeks, all traces of the chills gone now that she was heating up from the inside out. "Well not really nothing." She looked at Maggie shyly.

"He told me he loves me." Once she said it out loud where someone else could hear it, she nearly swooned all over again.

Predictably, Maggie gushed over that. "Oh my god Beth. Well? Did you say it back?"

Beth smiled and nodded at her as she dried the dish Maggie handed her. "He's just so-" Beth found she could not find an adequate enough word to describe how she felt about Daryl and their budding love.

Maggie laughed and looped a wet arm around Beth's shoulder. "Sexy? Dreamy? Handsome? Charming? Were those any of the words you were looking for." Maggie said teasingly.

Beth laughed. "Yes all of them fit him." She leaned in to hug Maggie quickly before ducking out of her grasp. "You are getting dish water all over me." Beth glanced down at the water spots on the front of the t-shirt she was wearing laughing at Maggie's teasing, not minding a bit.

"Speaking of which, you shoulda seen Daryl's eyes pop of his head when you went to refill his coffee cup." Maggie giggled at Beth's blank look.

Beth shook her head, not really knowing what she was talking about. "What do you mean? It's just breakfast." Then she clapped her palm against her forehead looking down at what she was wearing. "Oh my god, that was really bad wasn't it." Beth giggled then.

Maggie had never stopped. "Seriously Beth, the man was in pain. He looked like he could have eaten you up if me and Daddy hadn't been here." Maggie had that devious gleam in her eyes again.

"Maggie!" Beth said, only slightly surprised. "So you really think he wants me that much?" Beth knew all about desire. But she didn't know anything about seducing a man.

Maggie guffawed at Beth's question. "Are you kidding? It's written all over his face how much." Maggie's face softened then. "But he loves you. That's very apparent in the way he looks at you too." She placed her now dried hand on Beth's arm. "He's crazy about you Beth."

Beth's heart soared at Maggie's words. She knew he loved her but getting caught up in the moments with him, sometimes it was hard to sort it all out. "I'm glad I have you Maggie" Beth reached out to impulsively hug her and Maggie gladly reciprocated.

"Oh, Beth, I'm glad you are here. It really does feel like we're sisters." Maggie said.

Beth sighed. "It does."

"No go on and scoot and change. We gotta get busy if Mr. Sexy is picking you up at six for your very first drivin' lesson." Maggie drawled.

Beth beamed at her. "Be back down in five."

As Beth walked back upstairs to her room, she thought about the coming evening and learning how to drive a car. She hadn't ever thought it would be something she would have to learn to do. Being mortal was really complicated when she thought about it. But one thing was certain. Daryl Dixon was no complication. There was really only one word Beth could think of that wholly described him: Perfection. Because he was perfect for her. She had come here because of him and it could not have worked out better. She felt maybe all these millennia she had been existing only to come to this one moment in time. The moment that she realized that Daryl Dixon was her one true destiny.

* * *

**There it is guys! You have to be the most patient understanding readers ever and I thank you for putting up with my ADHD. As much as I thought that I was not going to write another AU right now, as most of you have seen that I have started yet another one! No Strings Attached, an AU where Daryl and Beth are closer in age and have grown up together. Beth is a busy med student tired of getting her heart broken. He is tired of women trying to change him. So they decide that maybe they can work out an arrangement that will be "beneficial" for both of them. Haha Yes, it is a shameless parallel with the movie of the same name. **

**Thank you AS ALWAYS for your awesome reviews and PM's and everyone who favorite and followed since last chapter. I appreciate ya'll so much! **

**Oh and I gotta tell you to read "Shrew" by whyarenamesohard It's a one shot and it's amazing. **

**Okay, I think I covered everything! Hope you like this one and as you can see I have set it up for the next chapter for the driving lesson. It should be interesting indeed, but we will see. Until next time guys, xoxoxoxoxo **


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Beth hefted the rake up from the pile of muck and straw she had been painstakingly scraping out of Nelly's stall. Nelly was nervous to be sure but for whatever reason she took a liking to Beth and therefore Maggie immediately deemed her the cleaner of Nelly's stall until the end of time. Evidently Nelly had bruised more than one rib in her day.

Beth had noticed since transitioning that most animals seemed to find her presence soothing. She found it a little odd that some of her seraphim qualities were carrying over into her mortal life but she supposed that it could be what they had called the residual effect. Some of the characteristics that made angel unique beings faded gradually over time. It hadn't been widely studied but there was a belief that some who transitioned maintained a certain ethereal quality about them. Beth didn't know whether she wanted to be one of those people or not mainly because she was having such a hard time transitioning in the first place at least as far as her emotions about Daryl Dixon were concerned.

She loved him, that was not even questioned. The thing that was bothering her the most and it wasn't even a bother really, just kind of something she couldn't get out of her mind, was the fact that she desired Daryl. She _wanted_ him. Every time she had kissed him lately, she had felt that tug on the strings of her heart and it was followed almost immediately by a different pull. One that stemmed so deep that sometimes it felt like it was seated deep within her soul, this burning ache that threatened to consume her. Any time he touched her it was like that. She remembered that it was like that before she transitioned to some extent, just that electric pulse that thrummed just beneath where he touched her, but lately it had become quite more pronounced. And it wasn't a bad feeling, it was just unsettling and she wondered if it was like that for all mortals or if it was just her own particular brand of torture.

Maggie walked out from the back of the barn, carrying a bucket of feed. Beth propped the rake up beside her and swiped at her sweaty brow with the back of her arm, a gesture that she had repeated no less than 20 times in as many minutes but it was past noon and sweltering even in the shade.

"Whew, it's hotter than Satan's balls out here." Maggie exclaimed, fanning the back of her neck after she emptied the feed into the appropriate containers.

Beth looked at Maggie and chuckled. "Maggie!"

Maggie just looked at her and grinned. "Oh come on, you know it's true." Maggie then had the good grace to flush, knowing full well that Beth had no clue what she was talking about when it came to the temperature of a guy's anatomy.

Beth toed the dirt with her shoe and looked back up at Maggie. "Can I ask you a question? And you have to promise not to tease me." Beth added the last part quickly and wrinkled her nose. She didn't relish having to ask the questions she had but it wasn't like she had anyone else she could talk to. It wasn't like she could ask Hershel. Beth had to stifle a giggle at that thought.

Maggie propped herself against the wall of the barn and wiped at her neck with a handkerchief that was looking no worse for wear. "Sure, does this have to do with Mr. Sexy?" Maggie wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

Beth laughed. "Yes it is about Daryl." Beth looked at Maggie uncertain how to begin. "Is it supposed to feel like this?" Beth blurted it out, wishing she could reel the words back instantly. She knew her hands were fluttering up to her hair and she found that she didn't care. This was Maggie. She was the closest thing that Beth would have to a sister. If she couldn't trust her, then who could she trust?

Maggie looked at her uncertainly. "Does what feel like what? Love?" Maggie was puzzled and it showed on her face.

"No. I mean yeah. I mean; I don't know what I mean." Beth just barely resisted the urge to sit down on the floor of that barn.

Maggie stepped forward and placed her hand on Beth's arm. "I think we're done here. Let's go out back where the swings are. We can cool off."

Beth looked at her warily. Maggie pulled on her hand. "Come on, it'll be fun."

Maggie dragged her out past the meadow and to the apple orchard where two wooden swings hung on either side of the same tree.

Beth looked up at the sky. The orchard provided some shade but the sun still beat down through the trees. The sky was that summer haze that made you wish for a good afternoon downpour to cool everything off.

"Okay you want to start over?" Maggie asked once they were settled into their swings.

Beth relaxed for a moment and she felt the tension slipping off her shoulders with the gentle breeze that was stirring the hairs on the back of her neck, going a long way to cool her down. This was what she needed. She took a deep breath. "I feel things all the time." She struggled to find the words and then finally forged ahead. "I want him. Like not just in the general sense. I want to be with him. Oh, god, do I really want that." Beth groaned in exasperation.

Maggie chuckled low and then looked at Beth. "You're horny." She announced it like it was the most normal thing.

Beth looked up shocked. "I am not. It's different. I just look at him and he does this thing with his eyes and I melt into the pavement. And then when we're kissing, it's even worse." Beth groaned again. "I can't explain it."

Maggie's grin nearly split her face open. "Yep that's the definition of horny right there."

Beth looked at Maggie and opened her mouth and then shut it again, flushing at the implication of the word. "Okay, maybe you're right." She grinned sheepishly. "But it's more than that too. I just get this pounding feeling in my chest like an urgency. That's the best way I can think of describing it."

Maggie looked at her and her face softened. "Oh Bethy, you just need to go ahead and jump him. You guys love each other. It's only normal to feel this way." Beth noticed the nickname Maggie had pinned on her and found that she didn't mind it. "Did that paperwork tell you anything about when you can get your groove on?" Maggie winked and Beth rolled her eyes at the line. Maggie was anything but subtle.

"It just says that you should go slow on any human experience because it can be taxing on the mind. We all know what happened when I had too much alcohol." Beth said.

"Well we don't want him breakin' ya." Maggie grinned wickedly. "I have a feelin he'd break ya even if ya weren't an angel though."

Beth's jaw dropped for only a few seconds before she burst out laughing. She didn't know what it was but it was refreshing to see that she was not the only one who thought that about him. Daryl Dixon was hot and Beth knew only one thing. She wanted him.

Maggie ended up telling her to experiment but to take it slow. Beth only hoped that was possible.

* * *

"Not like that!" Daryl exclaimed and cringed as he heard the gears grinding as Beth attempted to shift the gears. The engine made a high pitched whine and shuddered and stopped. "Damn girl, ya gonna strip out the whole transmission." He huffed then looked over feeling like the biggest asshole on the planet. Seeing her shoulders slumped in frustration tugged on something deep inside him and it didn't help one damn bit that it was hotter than hell out even though it was nearly 9:00 at night. Beth placed the truck in park and rested her hands on the steering wheel and leaned her head on her hands, looking out the driver's side window.

It was nearing dark now and he guessed their driving lesson would have to be continued to the next day. Again. It had been going like this for damn near three weeks. He had switched from Maggie's car to his old beat up truck after the first day. He had wanted to teach her in a newer model car but once he realized how hopeless she was at changing gears he quickly made the decision to switch to his truck. He had thought about finding an automatic to teach her in, but living in the south Daryl just had gotten used to the standard that everyone around here learned to drive on a stick-shift. It was almost a rite of passage living in the south.

He reached over and placed his hand on her bare thigh. She had taken to wearing some form or another of denim shorts. They covered everything that they were supposed to and Daryl reckoned that was part of the problem. It left him imagining what she would look like under all that painted on blue. They were tight in all the places that mattered. To top it off tonight she was wearing some kind of half shirt that showed her entire belly the soft skin mesmerizing and distracting. Daryl should know. He'd nearly let Beth run them off the road into a ditch twice already. He was beginning to wonder if she wouldn't be better served by having Maggie teach her, but the thought of two of them on the road made him cringe.

"M sorry." He said, tracing his thumb in a slow, lazy apologetic pattern on her thigh. She continued to look out the window and he was getting increasingly worried that he might have injured her spirit this time. "Jesus, Beth, 'm sorry, I'm no good at shit like this." He scooted closer on the seat and brought his hand up to her face, grasping her chin in his hand. She allowed him to slowly turn her to face him. When she looked at him, his heart fell to his feet. The look in her eyes was enough to bring any man to his knees. And Daryl Dixon was not any man, at least not when it came to this beautiful woman staring him in the eyes imploring him to take away every bit of sadness. When it came to Beth, Daryl reckoned he didn't have a lick of goddamn sense left in his head. He knew what Merle would have to say about what was going on. It was precisely why he hadn't talked to Merle lately.

"It's hopeless." Beth's lower lip trembled. "I'll be the only person in the whole county that doesn't have a license." She pouted, looking into his eyes.

He ran his hand down over her head and threaded his fingers through her long silky tresses. Her hair was one of his favorite things about her. "'M sorry Princess. Maybe we can take a break for a couple of days."

Beth looked up at him sharply. "But I don't want to give up. I want to get it right. Can we try one more time?"

Daryl looked at her and sighed. He couldn't be sure but he could swear he heard his truck groan in response. "Okay, one more time. Then we'll go down to the lake. Maybe it'll be cooler sitting out there." They had taken to sitting in the truck out in one field or another all over the county just wherever they ended up, listening to music. They usually ended their night with a walk on the Greene farm and finally lots of kissing and hand holding on the porch. Of course, lately, that had gotten to be more and more and gradually their fingers were starting to wander a bit from their self-imposed safe zones. It was making Daryl twitchy to say the least and he'd had to go home and take care of business himself on more than one occasion, making him feel like some damn teenager that couldn't keep it in his pants.

Beth looked at him and smiled. "That sounds nice. Okay, so I think I can do this. Can I take my shoes off?" Daryl looked at her and quirked an eyebrow at her. "It feels like I can do it if I can feel what my feet are doing."

Daryl nodded. Hell, he would have agreed to anything at that point if he thought it would work. This daily driving lesson was quickly becoming a punishment. He watched as Beth slipped her flip flops off and placed them in the back of the cab.

Beth thought back over Daryl's directions and concentrated on where her feet were. She looked over at Daryl in surprise as she managed to keep it from stalling out.

Daryl laughed at the shocked look on her face. "Eyes back on the road." He shook his head.

"Sorry!" Beth exclaimed. The speed on the vehicle amped up and Beth pressed in the clutch and shifted the gear and the engine never even hitched. She nearly stalled it out in her excitement and she drove to the side of the road and parked it, throwing her arms around Daryl's neck. "Did you see?" she exclaimed pulling back to look at him.

Daryl looked at her then and he felt it again. That snap in his control, like he was being awakened after a long, tiring nap. He looked from her eyes to her lips. "You did great, Princess." He growled it just before he captured her lips with his own. She let out a little surprised yip and her lips remained parted. Daryl wasted no time in slipping his tongue inside, exploring her tongue, her lips, nipping at her bottom lip. Kissing Beth was like nothing else in life. And one simply could not know what that was like unless you kissed her and now that he had her there was no way in hell he was ever gonna let her kiss anyone else. Her lips were only for his. He didn't know where thought came from but it caused a possessive grip inside him something fierce. Still she met his kisses with fervor of her own and it made him wonder. She was always eager for this. She loved the driving lessons and the hanging out but if he was a betting man, and he wasn't, he'd be willing to bet that she was every bit as turned on as he was. It was there in her gaze, in her breathy moans. He pulled back and fought to catch his breath.

Beth leaned her forehead against his and willed her heart to beat in a normal rhythm. It was getting harder and harder to control herself. She pulled away from him and tried to straighten out her midriff top. She had thought it would feel cool against her skin with there being minimal fabric. It was short and came to mid belly and had spaghetti straps. Instead of feeling freed, she felt very constricted and she could swear it was making her hotter. "Is that lake secluded?"

"Yeah, at least it is where I'm plannin' on goin. Why?" Daryl was genuinely curious.

She grinned at him. "Skinny dippin'." She said it so nonchalantly that Daryl chuckled at the same time his mouth went dry. Thinking of her naked in the water had his thoughts running on overdrive. She looked at him prissily. "I used to do it all the time before. No one could see me then." She shrugged her shoulders and opened the car door.

They quickly switched places as was their usual routine and Daryl set off for the lake. He looked at her then. "Well _I'll_ be able to see you now." He glanced at her again and he was aware of exactly what he was saying. He might have made the statement without any hesitation but his heart was about to beat out of his chest.

Beth looked at him shyly. "I know."

Daryl might have driven a little faster, but it was a blur. All he knew was they got there in record time. They got out of the truck and Daryl grabbed a blanket out of the cab.

Daryl took her hand as they met in front of the truck and he kept sneaking glances at her all the way down to the water. He felt like a kid in school again. He really couldn't recall any time in his life when he had ever felt this anxious about being around a girl. It had his insides all twisted up.

He spread the blanket out and looked at her. "You sure you wanna do this?"

Beth looked at him and started to unbutton her shirt. "Yeah, but you gotta turn around til I'm in the water."

Daryl flushed. ""Course." He grinned as he made that turn. He bent over and slipped his boots off and placed them beside the blanket. He couldn't help but hear her ease the zipper down on her shorts, then about lost his mind when he felt the still warm fabric of her shorts hit his ankle before coming to rest on his boots.

"You about done?" He called out over his shoulder. He could hear her splashing about but he was desperate to get rid of the images in his brain.

"I'm ready." He turned around and in the dusky light he could barely make her out in the water. He reached for the button on his jeans and noted that she was still watching him intently. "You wanna watch or you gonna turn your head?" He smirked at her and he couldn't deny he felt a little pleasure in watching her face fire up red as she turned away from him.

Beth couldn't believe she was standing here blatantly watching the man undress or at least attempt to, especially right after she had asked him to not do the same thing. She shook her head at herself and then she heard him come into the water.

Beth wandered out a little further so she could keep herself under water from the chest down. She was wearing panties, thongs, but that was it and those didn't cover much. She turned to find that Daryl was wading his way towards her. She swallowed nervously. She had never been more aware of her body and the response she was having to seeing him head so purposefully towards her, knowing she was nearly naked and she didn't know if he was or not. She shouldn't want him this much, should she?

She splashed the water a bit playfully in an attempt to thwart her own advances. She thought back over what Maggie had said a couple weeks ago. That she should experiment and go slow. She was going slow, but the pace was maddening and threatened to be the very death of her.

Daryl looked at her and his eyes glinted evilly. "Oh you don't wanna play that game little girl." Daryl said as his eyes narrowed.

Beth backed up and a squeal slipped past her lips before she could stop it. He flicked his hand across the top of the water, sending a generous spray of the lake towards her. She was sputtering for a minute and then suddenly he was right in front of her face. She lost all her breath in that moment, his gaze traveling from her eyes to her lips.

Daryl didn't know if he could do this. He didn't know if it was something they should bring up. It's what adults do. And they were all adults. It just so happened that one of them hadn't been a mortal adult for very long at all so he wasn't sure at all how to handle that conversation.

He looked from her soft and plump lips back up to her baby blues and he saw the answering hunger in her own eyes. He didn't even think about it just brought his hands up to the sides of her face, pulling her gently towards him. Their lips met instantly and these kisses were hungry, hot, needy. They usually started sweet and soft but the way he was kissing her now and she was kissing him back, it was like neither one of them had the reins anymore.

It was nearly impossible for him to _not_ think about the fact that she was wearing nothing or next to it beneath the ripple of the lake. He placed his hands on her shoulders and pulled his mouth off hers to look at her. Of course it didn't last long as his lips felt bereft of her warmth. He leaned down and began to spread slow kisses over her shoulders, his fingers trailing lightly over her arms. His hands disappeared under the water and he experimentally skimmed his hands lower running his fingers over her ribs. It was more skin than he had touched all at one time before and it did nothing to tamp down the rawness of his desire. He looked at her and he'd have to be blind to miss her blown pupils, the irises now thin rings of blue.

He pulled his lips off of her and looked into her eyes. "Beth." Her name tumbled from his lips without his permission. He wasn't sure what he was asking but here she was in front of him nodding her head. He felt her hands come up to his chest as he closed his eyes and kissed her again. She grazed her fingers over his nipples and he felt like somebody just lit a fire inside him. His dick had been hard since they were making out in his truck, but he swore when her fingers drifted lower and lower, it got even harder. He had kept his boxers on, but in the water, the weight of his boxers pulled downward and he could tell that is cock had already sprung free just above the waistband.

The more he kissed her and plunged his tongue into her mouth and the more his fingers skimmed over her, the more she moaned into his mouth. It was making him dizzy, heady and he felt intoxicated, her kisses giving him that feeling that he was drunk on the taste of her. He tore his mouth from hers. As he moved his hands purposefully up her ribs as they came to rest over her breasts, her nipples hardened into nubs that he pinched lightly and predictably she was extremely vocal about it.

"Daryl." She moaned his name.

It was chanting itself like a mantra in Beth's head. "Take it slow. Take it slow. Take it slow." That was every single millisecond in her head. It kept up until she felt his fingers start to drift upwards resting just beneath her breasts. She pressed herself against him, feeling her bare chest meet with his and the sensation was unbearable. She could no longer hear the chant in her head.

Beth began to let her hands wander. She reached lower and lower insatiably curious about how he would feel in her hand. She was just above the waistband of his boxers and her hand brushed against the tip of his length. Daryl gasped and shuddered and pulled away all the sudden.

"Fuck Beth!" He exclaimed, his breath coming in pants.

Beth looked at him exasperated her temper flaring which was weird, because she didn't even know she had one. "You've gotta stop treating me like I might break. I'm not gonna break Daryl. I was an angel but I'm not anymore. I am a _woman_."

He looked up at her amused and impressed all at once. "You been hangin' out with me too long darlin'. You're picking up an accent."

She shook her head, picking up on his teasing tone. "Not likely." She said smugly. "And don't change the subject. I want this! And you're driving me crazy with it!" She exclaimed.

Daryl ran a hand through his hair, feeling the moisture seeping down into his hair the coolness of the water refreshing but he felt like steam was rising up off his skin. That's how much he burned with need for her. But he didn't know how to handle it. He wanted her and she was so perfect and good and what did he have to offer her in return. He was nobody. He never realized it more than when he was like this with her. He felt so undeserving of everything that she offered him. Maybe there was a guy out there that was better for her. Just the thought of that pissed him off though. He was a fucking mess and he knew it.

"What is it you want Beth, huh? Me? This? Sex in some backwoods Georgia hick town with the first guy you meet? Just some dumb redneck asshole." He couldn't believe what had just come out of his mouth. He hadn't been expecting that and from the look on her face she didn't either.

Beth shoved herself away from him. Now she was just full fledged pissed off and she didn't mind letting him know. "That what this is to you Daryl? Just sex. With some girl? Because you know it's not that way for me Daryl. You're not just the "first guy I met. It's all bullshit!"

Daryl watched her warily. He had never seen anyone who wasn't afraid of confrontation, least of all with him. He had somewhat of a reputation of not tangling with him. But arguing with Beth? No, it wasn't working in his favor. Not at all. He'd never met a girl before that his emotions all riled up. And there it was again. Beth was not just some girl. It brought his thoughts full circle and his shoulders slumped. He resigned himself to the fact that she was right. He reckoned he might be doing a lot of that. "You're not some girl. I'm sorry. This is making me crazy." He took a deep breath and looked at her, seeing that some of the fire had gone out in her eyes.

Beth looked at him. "Daryl when are you going to realize that I chose you. Of all the men in the whole entire universe, I picked you. I chose this life because of you. Instead of picking the old you and what you think he would do, I want you to think about what you want now. You gotta stay who you are, not who you were."

He was overcome with tenderness in that moment. He reached up and brushed her hair back from her forehead. Looking at her standing there, the tips of her white blonde hair turning darker as they dipped below the water's surface, the tops of her breasts sitting pertly above the water, and her slim begging to be kissed shoulders, he was helpless. Helpless to do anything but throw caution to the wind. "Fuck it." He muttered.

Beth heard him sigh just before he met her lips and pulled her roughly against him. Her heart soared at his urgency even as the fire in her belly traveled lower and she felt like she was aching with need. Maggie had been right. She had to make the first move at least in theory. They had talked the thing to death thanks to her bringing it all up to the surface. Now that she had, she was helplessly falling. She didn't know if she was truly ready for this but there was only one way to find out. One thing was for sure, it was going to be fun figuring it out. She grinned against his lips, knowing that one way or another things were about to change. A lot.

* * *

**Whew, well what do you y'all think? Be sure and let me know. Do you think they will go ahead and take the next step? Or will their emotions win again? ;) Yes, I know, I am evil. Thanks as always for reading and favoriting and everything. So yeah, our SHIP IS CANON NOW! I would love to hear from you and hear your reactions. :) take care loves and keep calm and ship Bethyl. Good things are coming. Until next time, xoxoxoxoxo **


End file.
